Story: Himeko and Chikane: Their Story (all chapters)

It was a late Monday morning around early August, a young wheat-blond haired girl was searching through the trash can looking for any tin cans. It is a common practice for the homeless to collect cans so they can take it to the recycling center and get money for it. She has only been in the area for a little more than two weeks and she had already started this activity. She had some money when she left her home but she already ran out of it. Her story is not that much different from most of the young female runaways. She ran away from a broken house in Mahoroba trying to find her mother.

While she was looking through the trash can, a little kitten came up near her. One of the things she tossed aside in her rummaging was some sushi and that was what had attracted the attention of the kitten. The kitten nibbled at the sushi, testing it before deciding it was tasty enough to eat. When it was done, it looked up at the girl, curious by the blonde.

"Nya, nya."

At first, she didn't hear the kitten's meowing so she went on rummaging through the garbage can until the kitten meowed again, a little louder then the first time.

"Nya, nya."

Startled, the girl looked up finally, noticing the kitten for the first time. Relieved, she knelt down, smiling.

"Hey there little kitty!" The young girl said excitingly with a soft, high-pitched voice.

The kitten, excited by the girl's reaction, suddenly ran off. The girl chased after the cat, though the cat was a little bit faster than she was, she still managed to keep up with it. Eventually the cat ran into to a blue tent. By then girl was winded, having run from one end of the park to other. Seeing that the kitten had gone inside the tent, the girl knocked on the ‘door' of the tent, not wanting to intrude.

After a moment, an unusual looking small girl came out of the tent. She had cat ears, a tail, and even sharp, canine teeth. She looked like a hybrid between a cat and a human being. Actually, she was a cat girl.

"What are you looking for?" The cat-girl said to the wheat-blond haired girl. The other girl was surprised to see a lot of cats inside the tent. There were at least five adult cats and about twenty kittens.

"I just saw a small kitten run inside your tent."

The cat-girl knew which one she was talking about since she had saw the kitten run inside the tent, so she picked it up and showed it to the other girl. "Oh you mean this one, nya?" She said with a cute meow.

"You're not from around here, are you?" The cat-girl said sensing the other's girls shyness and noticing her accent.

"No I'm not. I'm Kurusugawa Himeko from Mahoroba."

"Well, ohayo Gawa-san. I'm Nekoko, nice to meet you."

Himeko tried her best to hold her laughter but she failed.

"Nekoko... Hehehe!" Himeko giggled.

All Nekoko did was shake her head. She didn't take it personally since she had long ago gotten used to the laughs, snickers and giggles when she told people her name. "Yes I know, the people who named me wasn't very imaginative," she said with a displease look on her face. "So what brings you here to Tokyo, nya?"

"I'm looking for my mother. I found out that she was living somewhere in Tokyo."

"But you don't know where she is exactly though? Tokyo is a big place and it will be very hard to find her."

"I know that. All I really know is that she is living here in Tokyo somewhere. Besides, I rather be here than back at my relative's home. I'd rather be anywhere but there!" She said as tears began to roll down her face.

Nekoko saw the pain in Himeko's face but felt the need to ask anyway. "Why you don't want to stay at your relative's place?" There were also many other questions Nekoko wanted to ask such as why her mother left her but she didn't want to get too deep in Himeko's life, sensing she was prying enough with the one question.

"I rather not talk about it." She said softly going back to her usual shy state.

"No problem. Just tell me whenever you are ready. Now, don't be shy, come on in!" Nekoko said cheerfully. Himeko stepped in and looked around inside Nekoko's tent. Inside there were many pictures of animals, including cats, dogs, birds, and several other animals. There were also many weird objects throughout the tent. Himeko had no idea what they were.

"Neko-san, what are these things?" She asked as she pointed to one of them in a group. It looked a hoop.

"Oh, it's one of my props I use for my cat tricks."

"Cat tricks?"

"Hai, nya! You can say that I'm a street performer. I perform my cat tricks all over Tokyo, making some good money. Not enough to move to an apartment here but at least enough to get food for me and my cats and to take a hot shower in the public bathroom."

As Nekoko finished talking, Himeko looked at one of the cats and noticed that the cat was missing an eye.

"Neko-san, what happened to this cat?"

"That one? Oh that one is Shizuka. I think she was physically abused by her former owner. I saw her like this when I first found her. In fact she was worse - she was very skinny and could barely move. She's such a sweet cat, I don't know what made her previous owner treat her badly."

Himeko picked up the cat and held her in her arms. She couldn't help but shed a tear for the cat knowing the pain she went through. The cat purred while Himeko was holding her close to her chest while petting her head. Nekoko smiled wide when she saw it but was worried about Himeko sensing that she went through physical abuse herself.

"You're such a sweet cat, why would they do such a thing to you?" She said to the cat while trying to hold her tears back.

"Some of these cats I have here were abused by someone. Hiro over there is missing his left front leg but he can still get around. Rina's neck has marks on it. When I found her the collar she was wearing was too tight around her neck. All these cats were abandoned and/or abused when I found them, so I take care of them the best that I can. I don't know why people do such bad things to these poor creatures." Nekoko said while trying to hold back her own tears. "The cats are very loyal and loving to me because of how I take care of them compared to their previous owners."

After Nekoko gain a little composure she then said to Himeko "I'm going to have one of my performances here at the park around 3:00 PM. Would you like to watch?"

"I sure would!" Himeko said as her face lighted up.

"Great! Right now I'm hungry, how about some lunch at the Salvation Army, nya?"

"Yes, I'm very hungry myself. So yes, let's go."

They left for the Salvation Army's Relief Center. It's where many of the homeless and low-income workers came to get food and any necessary items. When they got there, the line for food was nearly a block long, so they quickly got on the line and waited for thirty minutes before they got their food. All they got for their patience and trouble was a noodle soup with a ball of rice and some green tea. The two girls found a small table and sat. Himeko prayed before she ate, a custom she learned from her relative's house the hard way. While they were eating Nekoko asked a question, sensing Himeko had calmed down from earlier.

"So how did you find out that your mom was living in Tokyo? How long were you separated from your mom?"

"Well I found a letter from her one day. Ever since I was a baby I was separated from my mothers, in fact I didn't even know that my mom was still alive until I found that letter. My aunt and uncle once told me she overdosed on drugs and died."

"Why would they do such a thing, nya?"

"I don't know, probably to collect child support money from me." Himeko said, looking away, closing up again about the very sensitive topic. Nekoko knew that there was more to the story but she didn't press on, feeling that it shouldn't be discussed in a public area anyway. So she went back to the letter.

"But wouldn't there be an address on the envelope saying where she was staying?"

"I only saw the letter, not the envelope. I couldn't find the envelope. They probably were planning to throw away the letter but they forgot."

"Oh. Was that the first time your mother wrote to you?"

"I don't think so. In the letter she said that it was great that I was doing well in school. I think that my relatives pretended to be me when they wrote back to her because I wasn't doing well in school at all." Himeko said while holding her head down.

"Oh. What about your father?"

"He's been dead since I was four years old. I barely remember him."

"Oh I see. So you really don't have anybody?"

"No, not really, I'm all alone." Himeko said as tears started to well up in her eyes. Nekoko gave a napkin and Himeko used it to wipe off the tears.

"It will be ok. Besides the cats I have no one either." She said, trying to reassure and comfort her the best that she can. She then went back to eating after a few moments, however she forget one other thing.

"Thank you very much for the napkin Neko-san." Himeko finally said.

"Don't worry about it. You can call me Neko-chan. Just eat your food and enjoy the rest of the day, nya."

"Alright Neko-chan." Himeko replied with a smile on her face. They continued eating their food before going back to Nekoko's place. While they were there, Nekoko trained her cats for their performance. She always did it before she leaves for her street performance, Nekoko explains to the blonde. Himeko was amazed at how the cats were able to do their tricks without much assistance. The cat-girl had trained them so well that all she had to do was give them a command and they would do it. During that time Himeko saw a photo of a white Persian cat hanging in the tent, it gave her an idea.

"Neko-chan, do you have any pencils or pens and some paper?"

"I do, let me get you some."

Neko-chan got a pencil and a few papers from a small box. She gave them to Himeko and the blonde immediately started to draw the outlines of the white Persian cat.

Thirty minutes before 3:00, the girls and the cats left the tent and went to an area near the north entrance of the park. There was already an audience. Some had already seen her mini-circus performance but wanted to see more. Nekoko and Himeko set up the props for the act, it was quicker than usual thanks to Himeko's help. So the cat-girl decided to start the show earlier. Nekoko was wearing the usual worn-out clothes that homeless people wore, but she was also wearing a top hat, presenting herself as the ring leader. There was a small box on the ground, which was where the audience was expected to throw their money in.

"Welcome to the greatest show on earth! It's none other than the Amazing Cats Show!" Afterwards the audience laughed and clapped at the same time.

"For the first presentation, Morris here will jump through the hoop!" Morris, as you probably can guess is a big orange Tabby cat. The hoop was barely big enough for him to fit, but somehow he was able to jump through it. The audience clapped and some threw their money into the box.

Other acts included the cats meowing to an Ayumi Hamasaki song, a cat standing and spinning in a circle, another cat waving to the audience, and a cat doing a standing flip. Himeko loved every bit of it as she watched the cats' performances. For Nekoko's hard work, she got about 70,000 yen. She showed it to Himeko.

"That's all you got, Neko-chan? Why didn't they give you more money?"

Nekoko was very disappointed, but she knew the reason why she got so little.

"It's because of the recession. People don't have as much as they used to so they give out less, nya." She said with a disappointed look on her face.

"Well at least it gives you enough for some food for you and the cats."

"That's true Himeko-chan, but a little bit more wouldn't hurt either. Anyways, there's no need to be down today, let's head back to my place." Nekoko said with a smile. Himeko nodded in agreement and followed her back to her tent. When they got to the tent, Nekoko got some noodle soup and started cooking it on the shichirin. While they were enjoying their dinner, Nekoko asked Himeko about Mahoroba since she has never been there. Himeko started to talk about the places to visit in Mahoroba. Like where all the good foods in Mahoroba were and what's in the Mahoroba Zoo, since she knew that Nekoko loved animals just as much as she did. She never talked much about her friends because she didn't have any and she carefully avoided any discussions about her relatives. Nekoko was fascinated with what Himeko was telling her about Mahoroba, otherwise.

After they finished their meal, they went to bed early. There was hardly enough space in the tent for Nekoko, Himeko, five grown cats and twenty kittens but somehow they all managed.

While Himeko was in her sleep she started to have a dream... actually it was a nightmare.

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"Himeko, where the hell are you?" A middle-aged woman screamed out. Himeko was in her room shaking nervously, too scared to answer. She knew what her aunt was upset about, it was her report card and with the exception of Art, she didn't have any good grades.

Her aunt opened the door and saw Himeko covered in her covers with only her head sticking out. On top of the covers were papers of Himeko's drawings. There was nothing but total fear on Himeko's face. Her aunt ferociously pulled off the covers from the bed and grabbed Himeko by the shirt. She was holding Himeko's shirt in one hand and her report card in the other. She pinned Himeko to the wall and scolded her with all her fury.

"Are you mentally retarded or something?"

Himeko was crying and she timidly answered her question, "No oba-san, I'm not."

"Well it seems like it, since it shows in your report card that you got low grades on all the subjects besides that worthless subject Art. I mean how could you get a low grade on pre-Algebra?"

Himeko didn't answer.

"You stupid bitch, you're fifteen years old and you can't past Pre-Algebra? There are kids in America who can pass Pre-Algebra at your age!" She screamed to Himeko with all of her anger.

"I'm sorry oba-san, I will do better." Himeko said. She could barely see her aunt through all her tears.

"I'm sorry oba-san, I will do better." Her aunt said, mocking her soft high-pitched voice. "You will never do better because you're a dumb fuck! The only things you can do are drawing, which is a worthless skill that can't get you any type of decent job, and read crappy manga."

After that, she threw Himeko down on the floor and went into her closet. Himeko landed on her right shoulder and despite being in a lot of pain, she begged her aunt not to go into her closet, panicked-stricken. Her aunt ignored her and went into the closet anyway. Inside, she found a few pictures of naked girls Himeko had drew, most of them were from mangas and animes. It didn't make her aunt happy one bit, in fact it got her even more mad.

"I knew there was something wrong with you but I never thought that you were this sick. I'm gonna give you what you need, you sick rezu!" So she grabbed a wire hanger from the closet and came back to Himeko. The blonde girl was still lying on the floor crying as her aunt pulled her right arm back and hit Himeko in the back with all her strength.

"Please stop it oba-san!" Himeko begged while crying.

"Shut up you pathetic piece of shit!" She screamed back at Himeko.

"Aaahhh!" Himeko screamed when she got the hit.

With each lash Himeko got from the wire hanger her aunt screamed at her to shut up, but Himeko still screamed. She hit her at least five more times before Himeko started to scream in her sleep. "Please don't hit me anymore, I will be a good girl! I won't draw anymore naked girls! I'll get better grades in school I promise."

"Himeko wake up! Wake up!" Nekoko said while shaking Himeko to wake her up. With a jolt, she finally woke up and started to cry. Nekoko pulled Himeko's head into her shoulders comforted her while she was crying. Nekoko finally knew why she hadn't talked about her relatives so much.

***

Nekoko was comforting Himeko, who was now crying on Nekoko's shoulders. After hearing her scream for her aunt's mercy in her sleep, she got a good glimpse of what Himeko was going through emotionally.

Then Nekoko said to Himeko "It's just a dream Hime-chan, nobody is going to hurt you."

Himeko finally took her head off of Nekoko's shoulders, looking up to Nekoko's face. She could hardly recognize her since she looked very blurry. Nekoko could see the pain in Himeko's face and tried her best to comfort her when she asked Himeko a question about her dream.

"Hime-chan you must have had a very bad nightmare, could you please tell me about it?"

Himeko knew that she couldn't keep it to herself any longer so she told Nekoko what happened.

"I had a dream that my oba-san was beating me with a hanger after she saw my grades and my drawings." Himeko said and the tears started to pick up again. She was really afraid to tell Nekoko the last part of her sentence but she wasn't aware that Nekoko already knew what it was.

"Oh my! Were the dreams based on what really happened to you?" Nekoko said calmly.

Himeko paused for a while before answering the question. She tried to stop her crying but instead she cried even more. While she was sobering she told Nekoko the truth about the dream.

"Yes, very much so, in fact the dream was the exact thing that happened last month. My oba-san saw my grades so she went inside my closet to get a wire hanger. When she went into the closet she saw my drawings. She went berserk after that and then started to beat me."

Nekoko was hesitant to bring up the next question but she knew she had to. "Were the drawings in the closet pictures of naked woman?"

Himeko was stunned when Nekoko said that, she didn't say anything for a while. Feeling very ashamed of it she stopped looking at Nekoko and lowered her head down.

"How did you know that?" She said while holding her head down feeling ashamed of it.

"You said that while you were talking in your sleep, nya."

She couldn't believe that she would let something like that come out. By then Himeko was in panic mode, expecting the worse from Nekoko.

"Yes they were pictures of naked women but please don't kick me out or hate me because of it!" Himeko said while bursting into tears. Her hands were covering up her face, felling ashamed of what she naturally desired and for letting Nekoko know about it.

"No, no, no Hime-chan, I have no problems with it." Nekoko said trying her best to reassure her, seeing how much it had stigmatized Himeko.

"In fact one of my best friends, Hana-chan, is gay as well. He's a big okama and he's a hoot! I really like his impression of Joan Crawford, they're amazing! I should introduce you to him some time, I mean her. I keep forgetting that he likes to be referred to as she."

Himeko lifted her head up and looked at Nekoko. Tears were still traveling down her cheeks but she was able to put on a small smile and then she let out a soft chuckled. "Really?" Himeko said as the tears stopped rolling down her face.

"Yes absolutely. Definitely tomorrow, I have to see him on some other things as well."

"Thank you very much Neko-chan!" Himeko said excitedly and hugged Nekoko. Nekoko just smiled, thinking in her head how lonely, sad and isolated Himeko was.

"No problem. Just go back to sleep. We have about three more hours before breakfast at the Cathedral."

"OK, well then good night Neko-chan."

"Good night to you as well Hime-chan."

As she was about to go back to sleep she remember one thing, "Oh I forgot to say my prayers!"

"You believe in God and Jesus Christ?" Nekoko said.

"Absolutely, Neko-chan. I always say my prayers. It's required at the place I used to live."

"It sounds like you grew up in a strict place."

"Yes, we are Pentecostals. My oji-san is a pastor and we always went to church. My relatives made me read the Bible everyday. I even went to an orthodox Christian school. Do you believe in God?"

"I do, nya. I do believe there is a god out there. It may not be God or Jesus Christ but I do believe in a higher being."

"My relatives told me that people who don't believe in God are sinners who will burn in hell."

Nekoko just chucked and then shook her head in disbelief. "I've heard that one before, usually those that say such things are the ones who should ‘burn in hell'. Anyways we need to get some sleep, so say your prayers and go to sleep."

"Okay Neko-chan. Good night."

So she said her prayers and then they both went back to their sleep. It was short but at least for Himeko is was peaceful.

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When they got to St. Magudarena's Cathedral they got their food quickly since it was a small line. The food was being served on a table by nuns and they were serving Okayu and Natto, traditional Japanese breakfast dishes.

When they finally got to the table, a brown-skinned and purple-haired nun greeted both of them. Nekoko instantly knew who she was so she waved at her.

"Ohayo Neko-san, how are things for you."

"Fine Sister Miyako, and how are you?"

"Well I got to do some heavy gardening at the monastery today in preparation for the fall season. Plus I got to give my brother a call."

"So how is your brother doing?"

"He's fine. He told me about how his department busted a major Yazuka drug ring the other day. They celebrated on it yesterday."

Himeko asked Sister Miyako "is your brother a cop?"

"Yes he is. My little brother Girochi is a cop for the Shinjuku Police Department."

"Well he's anything but little," Nekoko said with a smile on her face. "He's freaking huge!"

"That's true," Miyako chuckled. "But he'll always be my little brother. Anyways may I ask what your friend's name is?"

"Kurusugawa Himeko," she said with her head held down low. Miyako was a very perceptive woman and she already knew that Himeko was shy.

"How are you doing Kuru-sama. How did you meet Neko-san?" She said trying her best to get Himeko out of her shell.

"Well I was chasing one of her kitties and it ran to her tent. She was there and that's how we met."

Miyako chuckled then said "that's rather interesting!"

"Yeah I know," Himeko said with a smile on her face.

"Anyways girls, let me give you your food because I don't wan to hold up the line. I'll see you two later if I have enough time" So Miyako gave them their breakfast and the two headed to a table. While they were eating their food they were chatting.

"So Neko-chan, do you like any other animals besides cats?"

"I love all animals, it's just that since I'm a cat-girl I understand cats better. I love having my own ‘cat circus' but that's not what I really want to do."

"What is it that you really want to do?" Himeko asked curiously.

"I want to own my own animal shelter where I can take care of a lot of koji animals."

"Wow, really?" Himeko said.

"Absolutely!" Nekoko said as she got excited about her dream. "But they're not going to be in some building cooped up in some cage most of the time. That's no different than being in prison, nya. Instead I would like to have my shelter on a private island, so all the animals can run and play outside. One day I would like to end the suffering of all animals!" Nekoko said enthusiastically. Himeko giggled when she heard that.

"What? Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Absolutely not! I really like your dream. I remember my art teacher once told me if you want to do something extraordinary in your life then you need to dream big, play full out, and go outside your comfort zone." Himeko said.

"Cool, most of the people I told about this just laughed at me." Nekoko said with a little bit of sadness.

"Actually it inspires me of my dream." Himeko said.

"What is it?" Nekoko said excitedly.

"I want to be a mangaka, not only that but I want to create a yuri masterpiece." Himeko said with a smile on her face.

"Yuri? Isn't that girl-girl relationship?"

"Yes it is." Himeko affirmed.

"What's wrong with the yuri manga that's out there?"

"Well a lot of it I fell is written for men, thus it's more about fanservice and less about plot."

"Fanservice, what's that?" Nekoko asked with a strange look on her face. She's very unfamiliar with the terms since she's not into anime or manga.

"Sorry I forgot that you don't read manga. Fanservice means adding unnecessary things to the storyline just to excite or arouse the audience with sexually-derived content."

"Don't girls like you like to also see sexually-derived content?"

"Yes but not so much that it takes away the story and it caters to only men."

"Oh I see. Well have you started on something?"

"I was trying to make my own doujin but my oba-san found it one day and burned it up," Himeko said with some pain in her voice.

Nekoko was thinking to herself how terrible of an aunt she was and was thankful that Himeko got out of that house. Unfamiliar with the term she asked, "Doujin, like a clique?"

Himeko just chuckled and Nekoko felt a little bit stupid for not knowing that word. Himeko saw the embarrassment on her face and quickly reassured her.

"Don't feel bad about it. It's not like a clique. Doujin is short for doujinshi, it means unofficial self-published work. It can be applied to anime, manga, video games, novels, etc. I feel like some doujins are better than the official work."

"Oh I see. Well I got some paper and pencil as you already know. Maybe you can start all over?"

"I would love to!" Himeko said with excitement. "Thanks Neko-chan."

"No problem, however I would like to ask one small favor from you."

"Sure what is it?"

"I saw your drawing of one of my cats yesterday and I was impressed. I was wondering if you can draw some background scenes so that I can use that for my circus."

"Sure, I would love to!" Himeko said while her face lit up.

"Great! Maybe we can get started soon," Nekoko said.

"Absolutely, I want to collect some cans so I can get some money first but after that I can get started."

"OK then you can start after my circus because I'm going to be heading to Shinbashi."

So they continued on their eating and then they parted their ways.

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Later on during the late afternoon while Himeko was collecting some cans in a back alley she ran into an old camera. It wasn't digital at all but it looked like it was one that professionals used. So she picked it up and examined it closer. She saw that there were a few frames left in the camera, so she decided to take a picture to see if it was functionally working. She took a picture and it looked like it worked, she won't know if it really worked until she takes it to the photo shop. Finding the camera left a smile on her face.

"Well it must be my lucky day. First I got a drawing project now I got myself a camera," she said happily.

Little did she know she spoke too soon. About a few minutes after she found the camera three guys came right behind her. She didn't notice that they were behind her until she turned around.

"Hi there, are you looking for something?" She said rather naively.

"No we already found what we are looking for," one of the man said while gleaning at Himeko and wearing a wicked smile. He was a middle-aged man who was rather short but stocky and had a full beard. The second one behind him to his left was tall and younger but was rather ugly with a few missing teeth like most homeless people. The other one behind him to his right was old and very much bald with white hair, he couldn't be any younger than 60.

Judging by the look on their eyes and by their sinister smile Himeko was starting to get scared.

"I-I don't know w-what you're talking about," she said very nervously.

"You're about to find out right now, you sweet little thing," he said and the two men behind him quickly grabbed her. By then she knew what they wanted to do with her and she was scared for her life. Tears were quickly running down her face and she was trying her best to free herself from the grasp of the two men but their grip was too tight.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed to the middle-aged man but he ignored her plea. As soon as he came close to her she instinctively kicked him to the stomach. The men were surprised of the kick, especially the middle-aged man as he found himself on his knees while holding his stomach in pain. The tall guy turned around to face Himeko, while the older guy was still holding her, and gave a stiff punch to her stomach. It took some wind out of Himeko and she coughed a bit, feeling the pain from the punch.

The man who got kicked to the stomach was really mad at Himeko when he told her "so you're not so soft after all? Well I guess then you won't have any problems when I do this to you." He pulled his hand as far back as he could and slapped her right across her face. He left a red mark on her left cheek and also some blood trickled from her lips. The slap made her cry some more but it didn't really shut her up.

"HELP ME SOMEBODY, HELP!" She screamed desperately as she was hoping that someone could hear her plea and rescue her. The old guy covered her mouth with a firm grip unusual for his age. Now that the bearded man knew that Himeko was completely defenseless he then proceeded to take advantage of Himeko.

"Well then you sweet little girl, your innocence is about to end right now."

As he was about to rip her clothes off a loud crackling sound was heard behind his back. Someone had hit him from behind. He immediately dropped to his knees while bending down and holding his back in pain. Immediately Himeko and the two other men saw a blue-haired woman holding a broken wooded board. Her royal blue eyes were piercing right at the two men.

"Let her go or else you two will be next," she said.

"Well if it ain't the koji girl. You better leave or else we'll make you next. I can't wait to get my hands on those nice tits of yours," the tall said to her in a threatening matter.

"You ain't going to do anything to me or to that girl," the bluenette snorted.

As soon as she said that she charged after the men but the bearded guy quickly grabbed her right leg. She noticed it and she quickly back fisted him right at his face. He immediately went out cold. The old guy got to her first a swung at her but he missed. She gave him a punch to his face followed by a kick to the stomach. While he was holding his stomach she quickly kicked him right at his face, knocking him out for good.

The tall guy was amazed that a young girl was capable of taking out two men, so instead of engaging in a hand-to-hand combat with her he pulled out his knife. She may be a young girl but she had quite a few experiences in street fights so she always came prepared, she also had a knife but it was no ordinary knife. It was the tanto, a double-edge dagger suitable no only for stabbing but for slashing as well.

The man was nervous but he didn't want to show it nor could he chicken out of a fight with a girl, he would seriously lose his street cred. So he tried to swipe at the girl but she dodged the attack then tried to swipe at her again but she also dodged that one. She counterattacked by taking a swiped at his face but he ducked it. Then she lunged at his stomach but he scooted back to dodge it, unfortunately his back was up against the wall and she immediately took advantage of it. She then had the tanto right at his throat, the tip of it was touching his Adam's apple. A trickle of blood was starting to flow down from the cut.

"Now you better leave her alone or else...," she said with a fierce look on her eyes.

The man was shaken with fear when he said ‘OK' and quickly left the scene. The two other men were still lying on the ground unconscious. Himeko was at the corner of the alley, amazed at what she just saw. Not only was she amazed at her fighting skill but she was also amazed at her beauty. She has a beautiful royal blue hair with blue eyes to match. Her lips were thin yet beautiful and her bosom was full. She was taller than Himeko but not much. Even though her clothes were shabby she still had an elegant look to her. Himeko thought that she looked like a beautiful princess wearing clothes fit for a pauper. After the man was a good distance away from the alley, Himeko quickly went up to the blue-haired girl and hugged her.

"Arigatou gozaimasu sensei (ma'am)! You saved my life." Himeko said with tears in her eyes but the woman wasn't flattered one bit. She pushed her off her and scolded her.

"First of all, what were you doing in a back-alley by yourself? Don't you know how dangerous it is especially for someone like you?"

"Yes I know but I had to collect some cans since I needed the money."

"It sure isn't worth your life isn't it?" The girl said sternly.

"Not it wasn't, but please sensai I won't do it again!"

"The name is Himemiya Chikane. You were very lucky that I was around and that I know how to fight. They would have raped you without any remorse."

"I know they would." Himeko mumbled with her head hanging down.

Chikane didn't see any point of pressing the issue any further so she asked Himeko another question, "What's your name?"

"Kurusugawa Himeko."

"Well don't go to dark back-alleys without someone who can protect you or at least some sort of protection. I won't always protect you" she said as she walked away from Himeko.

For some strange reason Himeko had to know about her. Himeko, being quite a perceptive girl, knew that the girl was from her area, Mahoroba. She thought it would be nice for her to meet somebody who was from her city. So while she walked away Himeko started to follow her.

****

Chikane was aware that she was being followed and knew exactly who it was. At first, she chose to ignore it. Who knows, maybe it was just a coincidence, but the farther she walked, the more she began to doubt it. Pretending the girl wasn't there would have been easier if the blonde was more...ignorable. For some reason her presence stuck out more than most. Regardless of the reason, Chikane found that she was quickly losing her patience.

"Will you stop following me, girl?" She said with a harsh tone.

The blue haired beauty's word stung more than Himeko would like to admit but she understood. To bluntly put it, she took it as if she wasn't good enough to be around her.

"S-sorry, thanks anyways," she said meekly.

The smaller girl's emotions played on her face like lights on the fourth of July. Her sadness and perhaps even a small trace of fear could easily be read by any bystander that bothered to look, let alone the girl standing right beside her. Oddly enough, the look on the fragile blonde's face pulled at Chikane heartstrings in a way she figured was best to examine later but for now she had to something about look.

"Never mind, let me take you back to your place so that no one can hurt you again. Where do you stay?"

"Actually take me to Neko-chan's tent; I was supposed to help her out with a few things."

"Neko-chan, eh? Is that crazy cat-woman your friend?"

"Yes she is, why do you say she's crazy?"

"She runs a circus full of cats, she's always cheerful, she thinks she rules the park, what else can I say about her to prove to you that she's crazy?"

Himeko was not the debating type, thinking that she's always wrong so it was useless to debate. Thus she went along with Chikane and all she said was "oh ok."

After that they walked in silence. Well up until the point that it began to much for Himeko to bare. So in a last ditch effort to start up some sort of conversation, she asked the taller girl a question, though she already knew the answer to it.

"Are you from Mahoroba?"

"Yes, you could probably tell from my accent. I'm guessing from your accent that you're also from there?"

"Yes I am. How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to know better than to go to some dark alley without carrying at least some sort of weapon, besides why did you run away from your home? You don't seem to be the type to run away, it must be something very serious."

Himeko hung her head down low and said softly. "Yes it was...."

"Never mind, you don't have to tell me because I really don't care," she said rather coldly.

Himeko couldn't understand why she was being so mean, if she truly didn't care then why would she bring it up in the first place. It was possible that perhaps there was something on the other girls mind. Or more likely, as the smaller girl saw it, Chikane could just simply be annoyed by Himeko's very presence. Whatever the case, she didn't dare to ask.

As soon as they got to Nekoko's place, the small cat girl spotted them and came up to Himeko.

"Where were you? I was a bit worried since I know it doesn't take that long to collect some cans."

But before Himeko uttered a word Chikane spoke up.

"Your intelligent friend here was all alone in the alley collecting cans when she had a rendezvous with the Snake clan."

Nekoko's eyes jumped when she heard that as Chikane continued.

"They were about to rape her before I saved her." Chikane said as she showed her swollen right hand to Nekoko. Nekoko gulped after she heard that. She knew about the Snake clan and how dangerous they were but she never thought that they would resort to raping. Also she wasn't pleased that it was Chikane of all people that saved Himeko, a woman who always seems to pluck her last nerve, but she didn't let her animosity with the woman get in the way of thanking her.

"Thank you very much Chikane-san."

"No problem lion tamer."

"Will you stop calling me that Chikane!" Nekoko hissed angrily. Himeko didn't see anything wrong with the name but her feline friend clearly saw it as an insult.

Chikane just chuckled and said "Why should I? You have your little rinky-dink circus with smelly cats doing stupid little tricks in front of a group of apathetic people."

Nekoko frowned and told her "Well at least I'm doing something besides brooding myself to death all day. Anyways I have trained my "smelly" cats a new "stupid" trick - to attack bitchy blue-haired bimbos, nya!"

Chikane gritted her teeth and pulled out her Tanto then stated to the tiny feline brat in a threatening tone "Go ahead and sic your polecats on me, see if I don't skin them all."

One thing that Chikane hadn't kept in mind was that Nekoko was part cat and being part cat meant that she had very sharp claws. Himeko saw her feline friend's hands were ready for action. Sensing that a fight was about to occur, she stepped in quickly before anything serious happened.

"OK, let's not start a fight here, there really is no need to be fighting. I think you two should apologize to each other."

When the two girls heard that they looked at Himeko like she had grown a third head. At first, due to their pride, neither said a word let alone look at each other but then Nekoko spoke.

"Look I apologize for being rude, Chikane-san." Nekoko said while looking at her face directly.

Chikane, then returned the stare and said "You should be sorry."

Then she walked away but not before giving the circus ringleader one last cold stare. It infuriated Nekoko even more. Turning to Himeko, the cat girl said. "See what I mean. She's ungrateful, self-centered, aloof, and arrogant."

Himeko was still surprised by how Chikane acted just then. Unlike Nekoko, she wasn't mad at the blue eyed girl, instead she was twice as concerned as she was before.

"Why is she so cold and mean Neko-chan? I was being nice to her and you apologized to her."

"I don't know Hime-chan. She has some serious problems, she always carrying a chip on her shoulder. As you can tell I can't stand her one bit."

"I think she is hurting inside." Himeko said sadly.

"She probably is but after what she just did, I couldn't care less. However she was right about one thing, you should never go into those alleys by yourself. I can handle myself. I'm a better fighter than I appear to be, you know."

"I didn't know any better, I'm sorry." The blonde said with her head hanging down and a tear traveled down her cheek.

"Ah don't feel so bad about it Hime-chan, you just didn't know," Nekoko assured her. "In fact I'll join you in collecting cans for a few days. I think I can put a few days off on my performance and help you out. The cats need a break anyway, so I guess now would be a good time."

Himeko had a big smile on her face when she said that. She was surprised that her busy feline friend would go out of her way to help her out. There weren't many people in her life that she could recall ever doing that for her.

"You really are going to join me?" The petite girl asked hopfully.

"I sure am."

"Arigato! Arigato!" Himeko said and bowed to Nekoko in respect, when suddenly she remembered something.

"Oh Neko-chan guess what I found in the alley today, a good camera!" She said excitedly.

"That's great Hime-chan, nya! Now you can take some beautiful pictures."

"I would but I noticed that the flash isn't working. Hopefully it's because of batteries. I really don't want to get rid of a good camera like this."

She showed the camera to Nekoko and she was amazed. It wasn't that she knew anything about photography because she didn't, but she saw how sophisticated the camera looked and assumed it was of good quality.

"Wow, is it like one of those that you can save on your computer or something like that?"

"No it isn't. It doesn't have any electrical components besides the batteries for the flash."

"Why don't you get some batteries for it right now?"

"But I don't have any money for any batteries. I didn't get the chance to take the cans to the recycling center. Besides, don't I have to do those drawings for you?"

"Don't worry about the drawings; you can do them later on tonight. Also here is some money to get you some batteries and some rolls of film."

Nekoko handed the yen to Himeko and a big smile lit up her face.

"Arigatou gozaimasu Neko-chan!"

"No problem, now go get those batteries and those rolls!"

The blonde girl nodded cheerfully.

+-+-+-+

One of the benefits of living in the Shinjuku ward was that if you need anything it was nearby, so Himeko didn't have to go far to get batteries for her camera. She found a photo store and got three rolls of films along with the batteries. After that she went back to the park. By then it was evening and the sun was about to set so the cheerful photographer thought it would be perfect to take some pictures of the park's scenery.

Her first pictures were the sun setting over the pond. She really liked the way the sun reflected from the pond. Then she took some pictures of the trees in the park. She thought how beautiful the trees looked with the evening light as the background. Finally she took some pictures of the park's statues and landscapes but she didn't take as many of it because of the fading sunlight.

By the time she was done she already had went through a complete roll of film and was about halfway through the second. The picture taking helped her take her mind off of the traumatic event that happened earlier, which she needed so badly. She was going to head back to the tent when Nekoko came up to her.

"There you are Himeko, I was scared that something happened to you again! I haven't seen you for a while so I decided to go looking for you. Thank God I did."

"I'm so sorry Neko-chan, it's just that as soon as I got back from the photo store I saw how beautiful the park looked with the sun setting, I just had to take a few photos."

"That's nice and all but especially with what just happened you should be concerned about being out here all by yourself at night." Nekoko stated.

"You're right Neko-chan, I'm sorry." Himeko said sadly.

"Look, let's get back before something happen to the both of us. Besides, you have some drawings to take care of." Nekoko said.

"I haven't forgotten about it."

So they went back to the tent without any incident.

+-+-+-+

In the tent Nekoko was training some of the kittens, preparing them for her circus. Himeko was doing some of the drawings on cardboard pieces using crayons that Nekoko had. She found out through trial and error that crayons work better on cardboard than pencil.

In between Nekoko's training breaks, Himeko would show the drawings to her. For the most part she approved of the girl's artwork.

"Hey Neko-chan, check out this one."

The feline came over and looked at the picture. It was a small cute lion jumping over a flaming hoop with Nekoko directing it. At first the cat girl glared at it with a frown, which Himeko saw immediately. Just as she was about to apologize, Nekoko realized that it was just a joke. She laughed and soon Himeko joined in to.

"So I see that you have me as a lion tamer, nya?" Nekoko said playfully.

"Yep!" Was all that Himeko said.

They just continued laughing and enjoying each other's company for some time until something unexpected happen. First Nekoko started to tremble then she started to hold her head like she was in pain. Then she began to scream. The recent events were shocking to Himeko. So much so that she didn't know what to do. Her brain just wouldn't react. Nekoko's knees giving out beneath her eventually snapped her frightened friend into gear.

While the pain and screaming was going on she was having flashbacks of her past.

"Oh my God, I need to get you some help!" Himeko panicked.

Nekoko heard her through all her screaming and told her "I don't need any help! Don't get me any help, nyyyyyaaaaaaahhhhh!"

Himeko didn't know what to do. She saw her friend was in pain but Nekoko also pleaded her not to get any help. Finally the frightened girl decided to get some help but before she could leave, Nekoko seemed to recover from whatever it was that was causing her so much pain.

"Himeko, I'm fine now. I don't need any help." She tried to convince Himeko even though her head still had some of the lingering pain left.

"Are you really sure?" Himeko said with tears rolling down her eyes.

"Yes, it happens every once in a while." Nekoko said.

"But why?" Himeko said with concern as she looked into the other's eyes. Nekoko stared back; it was her turn to explain.

"I don't have your stupid locket!" The other woman screamed.

"Then where the hell is it?!"

"That stupid piece of junk could have broken off. It looked like it was on its last chain anyways."

"Don't you dare call my necklace a piece of junk!"

"Oh my! Behold the great princess Miya-sama, lost her precious jewelry, pity to the world," She ended in a mocking tone, saying it loud enough to make everybody in the section take notice.

"Corona, will you quit calling me Miya-sama, you skanky ho?! You of all people should be the last on this pathetic earth to call me that, especially with that fake diva attitude you carry around."

Corona Hoshi often calls her "Miya-sama" because of her aloof personality. However, as Chikane stated, she at times acts like a diva, primarily because she was a singer who wants to be a pop idol so badly, and she thinks one way she'll get there is to act like a diva like most pop idols. She is also Chikane's "next-door neighbor" and she's basically the same age as her. Even though she didn't grow up an orphan, she too ran away from a troubled situation. Her mother left her when she was a baby, thinking she could do better without them, and her father was an alcoholic. He never abused her physically but tortured her verbally regardless of whether he was drunk or not, reason was that she looked so much like her mother. His verbal abuse has created some self-esteemed issues in Corona like Himeko but the effect is not as severe.

"Why should I, you royal pain-in-the-ass highness? At least I will be a pop idol one day, so I have an excuse to act like a diva. It's my destiny to be a star; after all it is my last name. All hail to the princess in her irrelevant glory!" She said out loud. Chikane started to grit her teeth in anger. May I also add that Corona is delusional.

"If you keep it up bitch, I'm going to make you see stars!" She sneered.

This was almost an everyday event for the two ‘residents' of Shinjuku Train Station, Chikane and Corona's constant bantering. Everybody who was nearby watch the spectacle the two often performed unintentionally. Some, who were daily commuters, shook their heads in disbelief, wondering why the station guards haven't put them out permanently. Their fights have become something of an embarrassment for the station and they have put them out, yet due to the size of the station and the lack of security guards, every time they put them out, they just come back. One of them mumbled, "These homeless trash should be locked up in jail for good. I don't care if they're just young girls." For a culture that prides themselves greatly in appearance and impressions, those two and their fiascos were considered utter shame, knowing full well that there are quite a few foreigners who had witnessed their racket.

"Hey, I didn't steal your locket! I don't make stealing a full-time profession like someone I know," Corona snorted back while looking at her. Chikane gave her an evil sneer in return as she continued in her defense.

"You should know me by now that I wouldn't dare take your stuff." That's not totally true, Corona has at times "borrowed" items from Chikane's "house," a big, dirty, worn-out cardboard with an equally dirty, worn-out blanket and pillow. The rest of her possessions are in a small plastic bag that she carries around because of Corona. Sometimes she did it because she doesn't want to pay for it, but sometimes she also did it out of spite.

"I can't trust you," Chikane barked.

"Do you trust anyone?" Corona chided, raising an eyebrow.

"With shifty bitches like you around in this city, why should I?" Chikane spat back, glaring at Corona.

"Because I know very well that a shifty, trashy koji girl like you doesn't have much valuable shit to take anyway."

"I may be a koji girl with a less-than-respectable profession but at least my profession doesn't require me to always be on my knees or my back!"

"Why, you stupid bimbo!" Corona screamed and lunged at Chikane. Chikane was taken aback never, thinking that Corona had the tits to charge at her. The sudden impact caused Chikane to fall the ground on her back while Corona was on top, but it didn't take her too long for her to easily overpower Corona. And in an instant, she pulled a switchback on Corona, grabbing her shirt and slamming her on the floor, gaining the upper hand atop her adversary. Chikane was unable to punch effectively with her bandaged hand and also she did not want to break her good hand against Corona's face.

Eventually, a security guard came to the scene and broke it up, grabbing Chikane with a good amount of his strength. He was nearly as big as Girochi and Chikane knew better than to take him on. When Corona finally got up from the floor, she took advantage of Chikane's disadvantaged position and slapped her right across the face. He could have charged her with assault but since he never liked Chikane's attitude, he let it slide.

"Officer Kyosabi-san, she just slapped me! Aren't you going to do something about it!"

"Yeah, Corona-san, get out of this area immediately."

Knowing full well that he just basically gave her a slap on the wrist, she just smiled and picked up her stuff.

"Okay officer, I will do as I am told," She said along with a pompous smug on her face and quietly left the area.

Chikane was shocked that he let her off the hook and just as he let her go, she stated her complaint to the officer as diplomatically as she could.

"What the fuck?!! The bitch just slapped me in front of you and you just let her go? What kind of god damn officer are you? A pathetic and lousy one if you ask me," She grunted.

Officer Kyosabi had enough of her mouth and gritted his teeth at her, "You listen to me, you foul-mouthed koji bitch. I will have your dirty cunt sent back to that hellhole in Mahoroba if you don't shut the fuck up. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you back, get my drift?"

That quickly quieted her, knowing full well that he had to power to send her back. The last place she wants to be is at that koji. After a second or two she mumbled, "Understood officer."

The guard heard her good enough to understand her affirmation and said, "Now, don't have me come back here again, cause I won't be so nice the next time." Immediately, he threw her at the wall and walked away. There were people at the area that saw the incident but some were too afraid of the officer and others were glad that he took care of that embarrassing "trash."

+-+-+

Fall was approaching and although Tokyo's autumn is pleasant and cozy, it can be a bit cold at times. Thus, every year for the past ten years there has been a clothes giveaway, where second-hand clothes are available for free too many homeless people. Founder of the charity event is Kazuki Ougami, a highly respected priest of the Solar and Lunar Temple across the street from the station. He was coordinating the preparations going on in the front lobby of the temple. This is usually a project he coordinates himself but this year his is being assisted by a special assistant.

"Do you have everything ready for the giveaway, Sister Miyako-san?"

"I sure do sensei. With the exception of the next pile coming up, all the clothes have been sorted. The jackets, long-sleeve shirts, pants, and long skirts are sorted by size and gender," She said kneeling on the floor while she had the clothes neatly separated around her. "Also the bad clothes are at a separate pile," She mentioned.

"Good. Do you think we have enough time to sort out the last pile you're brother is bringing out?"

"I think so, as long as I'm doing the sorting and my brother doesn't do something stupid."

"Yes, God forbid," Kazuki said in despair. Last year, when Officer Girochi participated without his sister, he sorted the clothes based on the design label, regardless of the space of the clothes. That didn't sit too well with Kazuki. "I'm very surprised that you decided to help out this ‘non-believer'," He said in his usual dry humor matter as he continued, "Because whether I ask your church for any of the project I or my temple are involve in, they turn me down for various reasons."

"Homelessness is everybody's problem. No one church or group can fight it all alone. In the bible, Jesus didn't care what religion the homeless belonged to. He still helped them regardless. It's such a shame that people in my church won't open up to others and help make things better in this world."

Kazuki had a small smile and responded, "Yes, I totally agree with you. I'm not too familiar with the Bible or Jesus Christ, but I've heard his story enough to know that he was always there to help others.

In a little more than a second later, Miyako's brother, Girochi, was carrying a big pile of clothes he got from the storage room, it looked like he was carrying a big mountain!

"Oh boy, this is one heavy load I tell ya!"

"Are you ok Girochi-san? Do you need my help?" Kazuki stated for concern.

"Nope, I'm fine. This is nuthin' for me!" He said with his usual assured confidence carrying the big pile. The pile was so big he couldn't see through it and that turned out to be a problem since he couldn't see that his sister was nearby. Kazuki saw the impact coming and tried his best to warn Girochi.

"Girochi-san, watch out for your sister!"

She was still sorting the clothes when she heard Kazuki's warning, however she didn't react quick enough to evade it.

"Girochi, I'm...AAAHHHH!"

He collided onto her, most of the clothes flew all other the place while some of them were sandwiched between her and Girochi as he fell on top of her. It was very uncomfortable to her since he was more than twice her weight. The scattered clothes screwed up the neatly organized pile she had labored on for hours. Kazuki saw the full collision and just shook his head in disbelief.

Knowing fully well how heavy he is and how somewhat fragile she was, he quickly got off her and took the sandwiched clothes off her. Miyako was lying on the floor face down moaning painfully, she looked like she was barely living. He pulled her off the floor and saw that her face was rather red.

"Onee-chan, are you alright?"

"I guess so..." She said in pain.

"Gomen nasai, onee-chan."

"That's okay, I'm still living - barely."

Seeing her red face Kazuki came up to her quickly.

"You looked hurt, do you need any medical attention?"

Miyako felt like that she didn't need any attention and stopping was the last thing on her mind so she told him, "No, I'm fine, I can continue."

Before Kazuki was going to stop her regardless of what she said, a young black-haired man along with a young, short, brunette woman entered into the temple. They were a bit shock seeing most of the clothes all over the place.

"What happened here?" He said.

"Looked like a small tornado came in here?" The young lady added.

Kazuki was happy to see his younger adopted brother, Souma Ougami, and his girlfriend Makoto Saotome. They were coming back from their practices at school. Souma is a top athlete in his school, lettered in four sports; baseball, basketball, soccer and tennis. He's considered one of the top high-school tennis players in Japan. His skills are so good, his former private tennis coach tried to persuade him to go pro but Kazuki wanted him to get his education. Makoto is an equally skilled athlete who is involved in the school's volleyball, soccer, baseball and track and field team. She's considered one of the top high school track and field athletes in Japan. Their love of sports and other things is what draws them together.

"Yeah, Tornado, Girochi-san." Kazuki quipped.

"Yep, that's Tornado Girochi-san, leaving a mess everywhere he goes," Makoto quipped in return.

Girochi heard Makato's smart reply, "Hey, I heard that!"

"Officer Girochi-san, how are you doing?" She said followed with a soft hug on his hips. She was rather short and he was tall and big thus she couldn't fully hug him. Kazuki left the area after that to attend other pressing matters.

"I'm dong fine, especially after the Yakuza bust at Kabukichou."

"Yeah, I've heard about the bust! How did you guys do that?" Souma said excitedly.

"Well me and my group, including your friend Setsuna-san, did three raids at various places that the Yakuzas do their business in Kabukichou. In one of the raids, we captured a big leader of the Yakuza." As Girochi stated, Setsuna is a good friend of Souma. They often play tennis together and she is a few years older than Souma. She is also a mentor to Souma when it comes to tennis. "However, as usual, when we get rid of one trash another takes over. The African Syndicate is starting to run things over there."

"Were there like a gun shooting and stuff?" Souma inquired.

"Oh, come on Souma-kun, it's not like a TV show or an anime!" Makoto scoffed.

Girochi just chuckled and said, "No, nothing like that, we took them by surprise. We surprised them so much that they didn't have the time to grab their weapons. There were thirty of us and we had them surrounded quickly, none of us got hurt. Boy, I tell ya, by the way the lieutenant planned it he should be the next chief of our precinct!"

"Well, I guess that means Setsuna-san can play in our pick-up soccer game down the park tomorrow?"

"She sure can, and I'll be there as well!"

"I hope you'll be there, maybe that time I get to score four goals against you, girl power!" Makoto said. The last time they played soccer together, the quick and nimble forward Makoto scored two goals against the big and slow goalie Girochi.

"No you won't Makoto-san, last time I was sore from my last assignment."

Believing that Girochi was making excuses Makoto playfully taunted, "Are you just jealous that a girl whooped your butt in soccer?"

"He sure is," Miyako responded in amusement.

"Onee-chan shut up!" Miyako just smiled back when he said it. "I was going easy on her since she was a girl. If I wasn't so generous she wouldn't have scored at all!"

"But what about you being hurt?" Miyako added.

"Well...that too! I-I-I could have..." He was starting to sweat and his brown face was showing some red as he was stumbling. Souma and Makoto were laughing at the embarrassing situation, eventually Miyako joined in. Still bruised by the collision, the laughing was a bit painful but Miyako tried her best to hide it. The laughter ended when Kazuki came back to the area.

"Souma-chan, have you seen Yukihito?"

"No, I haven't. He hasn't been around that much lately."

"Hmm, he knows about today yet he doesn't come on time."

"I haven't heard from him since yesterday. I tried to call his home the other day but I got a message saying the phone has been disconnected."

"That's very strange. Probably his parents are changing to a new line."

"Or getting rid of it, you know most people don't use landlines anymore," Makoto added in the conversation.

"That's true, but he should have at least told us about it. Anyhow, since it seems that you have some free time and that we have a lot of work to do, Souma, why don't you go sort out the clothes while Sister Miyako-san takes a break."

Souma had a stunned look on his face when Kazuki said that. "But I'm with Mako-chan and I need to study, can I spend some time with her?"

"Well, you can still spend some time with her, both of you can sort the clothes together. And don't try that ‘I need to study' trick, the first thing you do when you get here is to play video games on your computer. After you are done with the clothes then you and Makoto-san can go study. Don't forget who's in charge here," He said as he walked away to take care of other important issues.

The couple just gave a surprised look at each other. Soumo was clearly miffed at his brother's actions. "I swear to the Gods that one day I'll-"

"Come on now honey, it's not so bad. Think about it, we're improving the lives of thousands of homeless people." Makoto stated with her usual sunny disposition on life. "Thus we're making a difference on a lot of people lives, I think that's really exciting!"

"About as exciting as listening to elevator music."

Miyako just chuckled, "Look Souma-san, you and Makoto-san don't need to help me, I can take care of this myself. You two can go and do your studying."

"Sister Miyako-san, I need you for a minute," Kazuki called from a distance.

"OK, I'm coming."

Thus it left Souma and Makoto with the scattered clothes. "Come on Souma-kun, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we get to ‘study'," she said with a seductive wink at the end. That was all the motivation Souma needed to sort the clothes. Meanwhile while Kazuki, Miyako, and Girochi were taking care of other priorities at the back of the temple, Girochi got a phone call from the precinct.

"...Is that so? Okay I'll tell him right away and I'll be on a lookout for him. Take care and have a good day."

As soon as Girochi hanged up Kazuki asked him "What was that all about."

"I got news that Souma-san's brother Tsubasa has escaped from the mental institution."

"What!" Miyako shouted out inadvertently, getting a quick sharp headache as a result."

Kazuki with his usual cool and stoic demeanor said calmly, "That's not good, especially with his case. He could get himself hurt out there."

"Or others."

"Girochi, how could you say something like that?!" Miyako said regardless of the pain she was suffering, even though her face showed it.

"Onee-chan, I know how important Tsubasa is to you but let's face it, with his condition of schizophrenia, he's a dangerous risk to the general public. Trust me on this, I've dealt with my share of nutty schitzos in my job." Miyako gave him a dirty look for using that term but Girochi didn't get it, instead he responded with, "What?" Miyako just shook her head, not bothering to explain his insensitivity.

Tsubasa is Souma's biological older brother who was adopted by the Ougami family after their parents were killed in a plane crash. He was fine during his teen years, in fact he was dating Miyako during his high school and early college years, but during his college years he developed a severe case of schizophrenia. At first, Kazuki didn't want to send him to the institution, fearing the treatment he might receive over there, but one day he inexplicitly attacked Kazuki thinking he was a demon who was about to attack him and his brother. After that, he had no choice but to send him there.

"I need to tell Souma-san about this. I have a feeling that he will come here to see his brother and probably Sister Miyako-san." Kazuki noted.

"Yes, tell him. Who knows what he's capable of? He might instead come after him."

About a few seconds later, Yukihito finally arrived at the temple. His face looked like he was tired even though he woke up just an hour and a half earlier. He tried to sneak in nonchalantly but Miyako spotted him.

"Hey, Yuki-san, we were wondering where you were."

"Ano, I had to do some errands for my father."

"Why didn't you tell us about it? You know that we have to get everything set up for the clothes run, right now we only got an hours left."

"Yes, I know and I do apologize."

When Kazuki spotted Yukihito, he called him out.

"Where were you Yuki-chan? I tried to call earlier but I got a message saying the phone was disconnected. What's going on?"

"Like I told Sister Miyako-san, I was taking care of things for my father. My family got the landline disconnected, we're not using it that much anymore and we need to save as much money as we can especially in these hard times," he said with some nervousness in his eyes and in his voice. Kazuki and Girochi didn't pick it up but the very perceptive Sister Miyako sure did.

"I see, right now Souma-san and Makoto-san are getting the clothes together, you can start getting the tables together."

"Yes, sensei."

"And you will have to clean up the entire temple after the clothes run, that's your punishment for being extremely late."

"But sensei, I got to do my school work!" Yukihito protested.

"You should have thought about that the night before. I know very that you overslept. Your father would have made sure that you got here since I told him about it days ago. Not only did you come here late, but you also lied to me and to Sister Miyako-san and I will deal with you about that later on today. Now don't say anymore and get those tables set up. End of discussion."

"Yes, sensei." Yukihito sulked and he went to get the tables.

"He probably had a hot date, maybe that's why he came so late," Girochi said jokingly.

"That may be but that's no excuse for being late for something of this importance. Souma has one as well but at least he comes on time. He's been acting differently lately."

Sister Miyako sensed that it was something more than just a hot date is going on with Yukihito. While Girochi and Kazuki were still talking, Miyako quietly left the area and looked for a small quiet area. When she found it, she got on her knees while and bowed her head down. Then she started to pray, "Please God, let nothing happen to Tsubasa."

+-+-+

Back at her tent, Himeko was adding the final touches to her drawing of the girl in the locket. It was much smaller than the place she lived in Mahoroba but she was much happier. The tent inside was decorated with her drawings of anime characters, outdoor settings, famous people, and people that she considers to be friends. There were also photos that she shot hanging all over the tent. She had copies of anime magazines and art books she collected from the junkyard, which include her favorite manga, Battle Mikos. She also had a sleeping bag and a small drawer that contain among other thing her explicit drawings. While she was drawing, Himeko was having a reverie about her past.

She remembered the one time when she was only six that she drew a picture of Jesus for her Sunday school. It wasn't the best looking but it was much better than most of the other six-year olds drawings. Her aunt and uncle were impressed with her drawing, even congratulating her, something they haven't done much to her even at that age. From that day forward, she knew that drawing was her destiny. She continued to draw for her uncle's church, people were amazed at the drawings but she never received any credit for them because her relatives wouldn't allow anyone to know who drew them, nor did they allowed her to tell anyone that she did it. Eventually, they made her stop because they though she needed to focus on something else that they considered "more important" than that "nonsense" art stuff.

Then there were her art teachers throughout her school years. How all of them were amazed at her creative and artistic skills and many of them gave her the encouragement and care that she never received from her own relatives. They were the closest things to a loving parent that she ever had. She was in all the art clubs that were available in her schools. In those clubs she never said much, keeping to herself most of the time. Even though she was the most talented in the clubs she was never chosen to be the leader, but then again she never sought to be the leader thinking that she was too much of a screw up to ever become a leader. It also didn't help matters that some of the people in her club were jealous of her and others thought that she was too much of a loser and a wallflower to be around with.

However, her work was very impressive. Many of them were on display throughout the school. Her artistic talent did not lie only in drawings and photography, but she was a master in woodwork, weaving, sculpting, metals, jewelry making, sewing and knitting. Many of her pupils copied her drawings and bragged to others like it was theirs. She knew that other people were doing that but what could she do about it? She felt like it was a hopeless cause. She had won many awards and trophies for her artwork, which brought her some joy in her life, something to be proud of in her life. On the other hand, her relatives showed little interest in her winnings, one time her aunt complained about having all that "junk" on top of her dresser. Art was the only thing that gave her sanity in her life for all the beatings and bullying she endured. If it wasn't for art, she probably would have committed suicide.

Nevertheless, there was one art teach that stand out the most, Sensei Kuu Shiratori. She was the one who gave Himeko encouragement and support when most of the students and teachers thought that she was stupid. She was the one who fought for her to stay in the clubs since her aunt wanted to pull her out, feeling that she was wasting her time being in such a club. At that time, Himeko felt that she was the best thing to happen in her harsh life. She felt like she had a special bond with her, at that time she couldn't put that feeling in any other words. She sometimes stayed past the club hours to help out her art teacher or to chat with her about art-related stuff. That was until her aunt started to pick her up immediately after the club ended, she was getting tired of slapping her for coming home late.

One day when Himeko was helping her out, she stepped out of the classroom. While she was gone Himeko noticed a peculiar magazine on her desk. She went over the desk and picked it up. It was a magazine called Yuri Hime. When she opened it and looked at a few pages she was at first shocked to see some of the story and drawings. Girls loving girls? She was told that two girls loving each other were wrong, but yet somehow it very much appealed to her. Somehow that magazine opened up her eyes and asked a lingering question about herself that she couldn't answer before. She noticed that she always felt more comfortable around the girls than with boys.

When she heard all those girls talk on boys and who was the cutest, she couldn't understand why they found them attractive. During the shower room after gym she found herself looking and admiring some of the other girls' bodies. After reading that magazine, she realized that she is gay and that she has a crush on her teacher. Then again, another thought occurred in her mind, that text in Romans 1 that her uncle talked about a few times, saying that girls like that are dirty and will be burned in hell. Those words echoed in her mind and brought fear in her, even though that text doesn't clearly forbid lesbianism. In spite of this, many people in her church, including her uncle uses it to justify their beliefs that lesbianism is wrong and to bring fear on those who practice it.

When she got home, she immediately went straight to her room and cried. Then she prayed to Jesus about her "sickness."

"Why Jesus, why am I this way? Now I won't be able to go to heaven and be with you."

As she was crying on top of her bed the Bible fell off it. She heard the small thud and then she looked down at the floor. She picked up the Bible and noticed that the pages were opened to the chapter of Ruth. She dried her eyes and read it completely. She heard the story of Ruth and Naomi numerous times and read a good amount of it, but she never fully read the story until that day. After reading it, a smile was on her face. She got on her knees and thanked Jesus.

"That you Jesus, thank you very much for clearing my mind and my soul."

After snapping out of her reverie, she has a small smile on face, thanking God for bringing some sort of peace into her life. But something else came out of her mind, her former art teacher.

"I think I should send sensei a mail or at least an email when I get to that internet café, letting her know that I'm okay," She said to herself.

After she was done with the drawing she decided to go to the station and give it back to Chikane before it gets too dark. But before she left, she grabbed her camera. Who knows she thought, there might be some interesting things to take shots at along the way.

+-+-+

It took a while but Souma and Makoto finally got all the clothes sorted out in their respectable piles. It was quite an accomplishment given the time the needed to get it done and the amount of clothes scattered throughout the hallway.

"See what we can accomplish when work together as a team?" Makoto said with her usual enthusiasm.

"Yeah, especially when you have something to work for," He said followed by a seductive wink. It made Makoto blush a bit.

"Maybe you will get..." Mikoto said seductively. Little did they know that Sister Miyako was not too far away watching those two. Knowing full well that Sensei Kazuki would get upset if he catch them smooching at this time, she made herself noticed before their lips could lock.

"Ahem!"

As soon as they heard the sound they turned their heads to see Sister Miyako wearing a smirk. Their red faces showed their embarrassment of being caught red-handed.

"Oh, we sorry Sister Miyako-san. We didn't know that you were here."

"Hey, I have no problem with it."

"But you're a nun."

"I took a vow of celibacy, not a vow of intolerance. Anyways, I needed to speak to Souma about something very important."

"Do I need to leave the area, Sister Miyako-san?"

"No, Mako-san, you can stay put." Mikoto stated then she took a small breath and said, "I need to tell you that your brother Tsubasa escaped from the institution."

Souma was in shock when he heard that, "What! How did he escape? Has anything happen to him? Do you know where he is now?"

"I know it's a much of a shock to you as it is to me but all I know is that he's no longer in the mental institution." Miyako said as she noticed a tear was rolling down his face.

Him and Tsubasa were always close, before his schizophrenia makes him unstable. Makoto could see the worry on his face and tried her best to comfort him. She never met Tsubasa but from her conversations with Souma she knew how important his brother is to him. Miyako came up to Souma and put her hand on his back.

"Look, Souma-san, I care for Tsubasa as much as you do. The best thing to do right now is to pray to the gods that he will be okay and let them take care of him," She said to him, even though they were of two totally different religions, she still respected his.

Girochi and Yukihito came in moments later to help pick up the clothes. They saw Souma in tears with Makoto holding him but they knew very well why.

"So, you finally told him?" Yukihito said. He was told earlier by Girochi.

"Yeah, and he's very concern for his safety."

"What about you onee-chan?" Girochi said, not beating around the bush.

"I am very much as well. I sure am."

+-+-+

Nekoko and the homeless guy decided to head to his tent to discuss about the Snake Clan's plan of attack and how to stop it. When they finally got there they went straight to business.

"I heard from the young one, Mazuki-san, while playing a game of mahjong with him that they got word that your next performance was going to be near the station. The other two will get out of the hospital tomorrow. They were planning to get together with another clan to crash your circus and take your money, and then they were planning to take Himeko if she was there and finally get their way with her. Plus they also plan to have their revenge at Miya-sama as well after the ass kicking she gave them."

"Miya-sama?"

"A nickname Corona-san gave to Chikane-san since she acts like a spoiled princess."

"Oh, and that's coming from a delusional delinquent." That made Nekoko and the guy chuckle a bit but then she returned back to being mad as hell.

"So, they want play hardball? Well the cats and me have no problem with that. I know where they're located and I'm gonna show them why I'm the leader of the park, nya."

"Along with Hana's girls, I can get some of my gang to make sure nothing goes wrong with your circus."

Nekoko appreciated the offer but she knew him too well to know that he not that gracious. "What is it that you want out of this?"

"A free meal for us at the Lucky Dragon Café near the station."

"The Lucky Dragon Café?! Who do you think I am, Bill Gates? I barely have enough money for myself."

"OK, how about Hideo's Café in Golden Gai?"

"OK, that's doable." Hideo's café is not a cheap place but it's much cheaper than the Lucky Dragon Café. They're one of a few places around that accepts homeless people.

"Well that's sounds good. I'm going to play another game of Mahjong with him tonight, if I hear anymore I'll let you know."

"Please do so, I don't want them to cause any more trouble then they already have."

+-+-+

Himeko finally arrived at the station and started to look for Chikane. It took her a while to get there because she was too busy taking pictures of the city during her walk. Even though it's her second time being there the place feels very intimidating to her with all the people around her. It took her about thirty minutes to finally spot Chikane. She was sitting on top of a cardboard sulking. She was clearly not in a happy mood. Himeko was very afraid to approach her but she also knew that she had to return her the locket.

She gave a quick and silent prayer to Jesus asking him to give her strength. Then, with her heart beating hard she slowly went up to Chikane, who was still fouled from her altercation with Corona. She was about a few feet away from her and was about to give her back the locket but Chikane went off on her immediately.

"What is it that you want this time, huh!? What did I tell you about being out here by yourself without a weapon!? Are you some sort of baka!?"

While Chikane was shouting her mouth off, Himkeo quietly pulled out the locket from her pants pocket and displayed it to Chikane. She immediately shut her mouth and didn't say anything for a while.

"My necklace, where did you find it."

"I-I found it at the counter where we were eating at earlier today," She said timidly.

"Why... arigato, Himeko-san," She said followed by a firm hug given to Himeko. Himeko's face turned red, partly because of how tight the hug was but also because how much she liked her touch. Chikane felt so warm even through her cold exterior. As much as that hug was nearly suffocating her she didn't want her to let go.

"Dou itashimashite, Chikane-san," Himeko said while trying to hide her blushing red face. Chikane saw how red her face was but she thought it was because she hugged her tight. "Well, I got to get back. I'll see you later."

Just as soon as she turned around Chikane called out for her.

"Himeko-chan, wait!"

Himeko turned around in surprise, surprised that she called her ‘Himeko-chan'."

"Let me take you back to your place. It's starting to get dark and I don't want anything else happening to you again."

That left a big smile on Himeko's face.

***

"Look, if you're going to hang around me, then you got to toughen up, because right now, I'm a walking bull's eye with you around me. This is the rough streets of Tokyo, the side that you'll never see on a postcard. Triads, Yakuzas, drunks, shady businessmen, con-artists, and African and Brazilian drug dealers are all around here. You got that?"

Himeko said timidly, "Y-yes, Chikane-san." Deep down, Himeko was really scared since she didn't think she could never be tough and that no matter what she does, she will always disappoint Chikane.

"The first thing I'm going to teach you is defense. In order to survive in the streets you got to have a good defense, no, a great defense. Meet me at the station tomorrow around 11:00."

"OK, Chikane-san." Himeko said like a child.

"That's another thing. Not only do you look soft, you sound soft. That's going to change as well. Well you start hanging around with me you're going to sound like a real woman, not some little girl trapped in a teenage body. You got it?"

"I got it." Himeko said with her normal soft and high-pitched voice. Chikane gave her that look and Himeko knew that she had to correct herself. "I mean, I got it." She said with an exaggerated deep voice. Chikane didn't say anything while they were on the crosswalk heading to the park but in her mind she said, "I got a lot of work ahead of me."
Chikane kept on lecturing Himeko, "Also, you gonna need to make some money. Nekoko can't support you forever and she won't. She's not really the motherly type, that's why she has cats and not dogs. I'm also willing to show you how to make some money around here but not only you got to be tough, you also got to be smart and you got to be quick, understand?"

Himeko nodded her head in agreement. Then she asked curiously, "Where in Mahoroba are you from? I know that you come from an orphanage since I heard the Snake clan call you a ‘koji girl' but which one over there?"

Chikane hesitated a bit to answer the question. She didn't want her to know that she came from that infamous reformatory/orphanage in southern Mahoroba, it might scare her away, even though she look naïve enough to not know about the place. For some reason, she didn't want her to leave her so she couldn't take that chance. Instead she told her the other orphanage in western Mahoroba.

"I'm from St. Fuukino's orphanage at Saimachi." Saimachi is a section of western Mahoroba known to the locals as the "wealthy district." That orphanage is well known and well respected.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, but there was nothing special about the place, it's just your typical orphanage." Chikane said trying to sound indifferent but her body language said something else and Himeko saw it.

"OK." Himeko said in her usual soft tone. She didn't bring it up but she could tell that Chikane didn't have pleasant memories of her orphanage. Not feeling comfortable about the subject, Chikane quickly changed it.

"It sounds like religion plays a big part of your life, Himeko-san."

"It really does. My relatives run a church."

Chikane had a feeling that Himeko belonged to a very strict religion. "So what religion do you belong to?"

"We're Pentecostals."

When she said that Chikane immediately thought in her head, "Oh God...", pun intended.
"No wonder why this girl is really sheltered and messed up. Her relatives basically controlled her." Of course she didn't say that to her, however she did ask another question. "So, how big is your oji-san's church?"

"That big," As Himeko said pointing out his appearance on a large High Definition TV screen displayed at the front of an appliance store that Himeko and Chikane was walking by. Pastor Kyoshiro Ayanokouji is a well-known televangelist in Japan. He was on TV doing his usual spiel on how you can be saved by donating to his church. He was the most well known Pentecostal pastor in Japan who had converted over 2 million Japanese ‘heathens' in his life. Chikane was shocked to see who her relatives were. She never would have imagined that Himeko relatives were rich, now her sheltered life made more sense.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," as she pulled out an old small photo of her and her relatives from her dirty pair of pants. Chikane was even more stunned that she wasn't lying. She wouldn't think that Himeko was the lying type but she wasn't fully convinced until she saw the photo.

"Wow, your relatives must be very rich, why would you want to run away from your home?"

Himeko quickly reverted back to her shy and timid persona, and was hesitant to talk about it.

"I-I-I..."

Chikane saw the pain in her face so she simply told her she didn't have to tell her. Somehow she sensed Himeko ran away for the same reasons she did.

"Look, Himeko-san, you don't have to tell me now, you can tell me when you're ready."

"Okay, arigato, Chikane-san."

"No problem," She said and Chikane watched Himeko's uncle show for a bit, thinking to herself "yet another religious huckster," then they continued on to Himeko's place.

"So what about you, do you belong to any religion?"

"I belong to no religion whatsoever, even though I grew up in a Catholic orphanage. I don't want to have anything to do with God, religion, or anything of that sort. And I don't want anyone to enforce it on me, understood?" Chikane said tersely. It was even more evident to Himeko that something really did happen during her time at the orphanage.

"Yes, Chikane-san. I will never try to preach or convert you."

"Really?"

"Yes, it doesn't really matter if you are a Christian or not. What really matters is how we can change other people lives for the better." If only Himeko had the confidence to believe those words in her heart.

Those words left a small smile on Chikane's face. "Well, that's good to hear a Christian that has an open mind and an open heart."

Along the way, Himeko spotted the famous ‘LOVE' sculpture. It's a big red sculpture that says the English word ‘love'. She thought that it would be perfect to take a picture of it with her and Chikane together, so she brought it up to Chikane.

"Hey Chikane-san, isn't that the LOVE sculpture?"

"Yep, it sure is. I really don't understand what's with Japan's fascination of Western things. I mean come on now, this ain't Philadelphia!" Chikane was referring to how similar the sculpture was to the one in Philadelphia.

"I really like the aesthetics of it, even though it's very similar to the one in Philadelphia. Also, I think love is a universal thing, it's not just a Western thing. The message of love is universal, no matter what language you use to say it." She concluded. Chikane got a rare look at Himeko's hidden intellectual side, a side that some people ignorantly say doesn't exist. "Would you like to take a picture of it with us together?"

At first Chikane was shocked that Himeko would think such a thing, it could be sending out the wrong message, but then she realized that Himeko meant it in an innocent matter. Thus, she didn't see any harm in it and she happily agreed to participate. "Okay, that's fine with me, but who's going to take the picture?"

"I'll get someone to take it." So Himeko found a passerby and asked her to take the picture with them together. Like Chikane, she was at first stunned but she too realized the nature and then agreed to take it. With the sculpture in the background, Himeko and Chikane posed for the picture. She had her arms unconsciously around Chikane's waist. Chikane was surprised by her action and was about to protest but she saw how happy she was. The woman noticed as well but she still took it. Himeko stuck out the peace sign while wearing a genuine smile on her face, while Chikane just had a regular smile on her face. Himeko was surprised and glad to see Chikane smiling for once. The woman took the picture and was about to returned the camera back to Himeko, but she asked to take another picture, so she did. She finally returned the camera back to Himeko and quickly left the area. Himeko couldn't understand why she would do such a think but Chikane knew full well. Seeing how happy she was, Chikane couldn't tell her why. She asked Himeko a question while looking at her camera.

"Is that an old camera?"

"Yes, it's a good quality one, but it's not digital."

"So you have to take the roll to a photo shop?"

"Yes, it might take a few days before I get it back. The good thing is that Bic Camera has a discount going on for processing roles."

"Okay, when you have it, can I have one for myself?"

"Of course, Chikane-san. I wasn't planning to keep the picture for myself."

"Arigato, Hime-san," she thanked her sincerely.

"Dou itashimashite, Chikane-san," Himeko responded back in kindness.

"Come on, Himeko, it's getting rather late and I don't want Nekoko to get a heart attack over you. I'll hear it to no end from her."

Himeko nodded in agreement and so they went straight to the park. As soon as they got to the tent, Nekoko was waiting there. Chikane rolled her eyes in grief, thinking that some drama is about to happen.

"There you are, Hime-chan, and why is Chikane-san with you?"

"I went to see her so that I can return her necklace to her."

"Yeah, Neko-san, she can do things for herself you know."

Nekoko was starting to steam up but knowing that Himeko is around she quickly calmed herself down and told her some important news.

"Yes, I know Himeko is not a child, so stop patronizing me. Before you open your big mouth, Chikane-san, I got important news to tell both of you. The Snake Çlan is regrouping and they are planning to not only attack my circus but also to get both of you as well. This time they got another gang who is very willing to help them out. I'd had issues with the group in the past since they wanted to be the leaders of the park and now they're using this opportunity to take over. They plan to attack in about three days from now, when I will have my performance near the station. They don't know that I know about the attack, and I would like to keep it that way."

Chikane wasn't surprised that the Snake Clan are planning to retaliate against her and she wasn't surprised that they would get some outside help. Nekoko does have her share of enemies. Nevertheless, it puzzled her a bit that Nekoko would ask her for help.

"So why are you asking for my help?"

"Because I know that you're a good fighter and that you will be a significant contribution to putting an end to the Snake Clan. You're as much of a mark target as we are. You know the Snake Clan isn't the only gang that wants to kick your ass, especially with all the shit you've done since you've been here."

"We to be honest with you Neko-san, I'll be more than happy to help you kick their asses. There's nothing more in this world I would enjoy than to give those perverts the ass-whipping they deserve, but who is going to help us out as well? There won't be enough of us to take care of all of them." Chikane asked with an unsure look on her face.

"Hana and the girls plus Natashi and his gang will back us up. They will be there to help protect us."

Chikane knew very well that it still wasn't enough but she couldn't pass up an opportunity to beat the hell out of those raping perverts. This was a hidden personal agenda of hers. She really wanted to teach those creeps a lesson, so she reluctantly agreed.

"Well I don't have much of a choice since I'm going to train Himeko."

"Train Hime-chan? In what?"

"In fighting. Can you defend her all the time? Will you watch her 24/7? Can you spare enough time to train her and train your cats as well? I already know the answers to those questions, furball."

Nekoko really wanted to smack Chikane but she also knew that Chikane is right.

"OK, I get your point! But you can't force Hime-chan to be trained unless she wants to. Hime-chan, do you want to be trained?"

Himeko nodded her head positively without any hesitation. Nekoko didn't know what to make out of this, something deep inside of her sensing that Himeko has already started to grow fond of Chikane.

"OK, then you can go ahead and train Hime-chan," Nekoko said with some reluctance. "However, if you harm Himeko-chan in any way, I will come after you like a tiger. You got that, nya?"

Chikane looked at her dead in eye without any sort of flinching and said, "I fully get it. I will not harm her at all."

"Good, as long as we actually agree on something, for once. Now then, the performance will be at 12:00 three days from now. It's happening around lunch break so there will be a lot of people there, understood?"

"Understood very well, Neko-san."

"Now let's get inside Hime-chan."

Himeko immediately obeyed and said, "Okay, Neko-chan."

As Himeko followed her to the tent Chikane said "See you tomorrow, Hime-chan!".

"See you tomorrow!" Himeko turned around and smiled back as she waived to her. She didn't head inside Nekoko's tent until Chikane was totally out of her sight. In her mind she was thinking why Chikane was so passionate about ‘teaching' the Snake Clan a lesson. Did something like that happen to her in the past? Finally, she head inside and asked her about the showdown.

As soon as she got inside, Nekoko address a few things to her.

"Hime-chan, I don't like it one bit that Chikane-san is training you, but it would be the best thing for you. Nevertheless, that's as far as you want to associate with her, she cannot be trusted one bit."

"I understand, Neko-chan."

"You only have a short amount of time to get yourself prepared so learn as much as you can. We need to show those bastards who's boss around here."

"OK," Himeko said softly. In spite of this, Himeko was sensing this wasn't the right way to go about this. What if the Snake Clan knew about Nekoko's plan and has a counter-plan in return? What if the Snake Clan has a stronger backup than what Nekoko thought? Then they would all be in big trouble. But the biggest concern was that a lot of people, especially innocent bystanders, could get hurt. Himeko really didn't want to see anybody get hurt, so she brought up another solution.

"Why don't we get the cops to help us on this?"

"Are you crazy!" Nekoko exasperated. "I knew you were rather naïve but I didn't think that you were that naïve. Of course not! The cops don't care about us one bit, so they won't help us. And second of all, if they do ‘help' us, they would probably use the opportunity to arrest us. After all, we're not even considered human."

"How do you know they would do that? Isn't there another way?"

"Cause Himeko, I've been out here for over ten years and the police haven't change much since I've been here. There are a few like Officer Girochi-san who does care but the rest of them don't care about us. To them we're nothing more than worthless trash that brings down the society and raises taxpayer's money. As for another way, there is no other way. It's simply us vs. them and the only way to settle it is to go head-to-head with them. You got to understand that there are certain things that can only be solved through confrontation. This ain't no kiddie game."

"OK," Himeko obeyed, but deep inside her thought she couldn't get it out of her mind how violent it could be and how much harm and damage it could cause. Her thoughts were especially focused on the innocent bystanders. So Himeko went back to her tent and continued on her drawings, but those thoughts never left her mind.

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While at the clothes run, Hana was waiting in the line when he saw a beautiful pink scarf on a table, hoping that no one would pick it up. He came here to pick up some old clothes for the fight. It was by chance that he saw the scarf. There was only one woman in front of him so he had that going for him. As the lady reached the table, she looked at the scarf but decided not to pick it up. It left a smile on his face. When he got to the table, Sister Miyako appeared.

"I thought you might like it."

"Well thank you darling. You have such great taste."

"Well I learn from the best."

Hana smiled in return. "So how are things going at the cathedral?" The cathedral he's referring to was St. Teresa, which is only two blocks away from the Sun and Moon temple.

"Quite fine, been busy as usual."

"Well that's good, but there's something I want to tell you for a long time."

"What is it, Hana-chan?"

"I want to thank you for defending me at St. Teresa's the other day." About a month ago a new priest took over the church and made sweeping changes. Part of the sweeping change includes ‘converting' or getting rid of the people that didn't fit the church ‘image', and surely Hana was considered one of those people. Sister Miyako strongly objected to many of those changes, especially with those that didn't fit the image and she made it known throughout the church.

"No problem. You are my friend and a huge contribution to the church and to everybody around you, especially in the choir. Because of that, I would like for you to come back."

"You know I can't go back there. They don't accept my type, after Father made an example out of me in front of the congregation."

"Look, Hana-chan. We really need people like you to stand up to him. The reason why he's getting away with his agenda is because instead of taking him on, everybody's running away. Nobody's standing up for what they believe in." She had fought the priest on numerous occasions and because of it she her role in the church reduced. Now, there are plans to oust her from the church altogether.

"Nah, I'll just find another church that will accept me."

"And then what happens if that church turned out just like St. Teresa's? Are you going to run to another church? Change will never happen if you don't take a stand for what you're committed to."

That gave Hana something to think about. "You're right, Sister Miyako-san."

Miyako just smiled and said, "Now can I expect to see you next Sunday?"

Hana's body tensed a bit when he heard that. He knew that Sister Miyako can be unreasonable at times but that one really got him.

"Yes, I will be there, and early too!"

"Around what time?"

Sister Miyako wasn't going to let Hana slide out of this one and he knew it so he told her the time.

"I will be there at 9 am, when the service starts."

"Good, I look forward to seeing you there."

After the conversation, Miyako noticed that Hana was carrying something unusual, well unusual for Hana's standards.

"What are you doing with that old, worn-out coat?"

"Well, I'm planning to redecorate my place, and I don't want to use my clean clothes so I need to wear something that I wouldn't mind messing up, yeah." He said with some nervousness in his voice. He sure didn't want her to know about the upcoming showdown. Miyako saw it very well that he was hiding something. "Well I got to run, I'll catch up with you later," He said before she can get more out of him.

Miyako knew that Hana wouldn't want to be caught dead wearing worn-out clothes and she also knew there was something else going on. She thought to herself, "Something is going on here and I need to find out fast."

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The following day, it was 10:45 am and Himeko came earlier because she was excited about the training. In her mind she was thinking she will finally be like Himiko of Battle Mikos, shy and weak but eventually become strong and powerful. Chikane then took her to the alley to the alley where she cried the other day. It was a perfect place since not a lot of people come there. Himeko was wearing a long-sleeve shirt with some loose pants. It caught Chikane's attention since it was not proper attire.

"I hope you brought a T-shirt with you. It's a little bit cold right now, but eventually you will get hot and sweaty and that long-sleeve shirt won't help you."

"No, I didn't bring a T-shirt, but I'll be fine," Himeko said with assurance.

Chikane gave in reluctantly and said, "Well then, welcome to your first day of training. The first thing I will teach you is defense. Defense is critical in fighting, more so than offense because defense is the one thing that will determine whether you live or not. And since we only have two days before our meeting with the Snake Clan, I want your full and undivided attention. You got that?"

"Hai! So sensei, are you going to teach me ‘wax on, wax off'?" Himeko said jokingly with her arms doing the waxing motion that Mr. Miyagi showed to Daniel in The Karate Kid. Chikane just smacked her hand on her forehead in disbelief.

"No, Daniel-san," Chikane said sarcastically. "My name is not Miyagi-sensei and this ain't The Best Kid. This is real life, girl, so stop kidding around. Before you can do any defensive techniques you will need to learn the proper stance, because your defense and offense will not work if you do not have solid footing. Can you imagine doing the Crane Kick without solid footing?"

"You mean like this?" As she foolishly attempt to emulate the Crane Kick like how Daniel did in the movie. Due to her natural clumsiness, she lost her balance and fell on her right side on the asphalt and then started to cry.

Chikane shook her head in disbelief and thought to herself, Oh my, this is going to be a loooooonnnnnng day.

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The training was over and it was an intense three hours. Himeko was sore and her forearms and thighs were hurting and had red marks all over them even though she was fully clothed. Her shirt was drenched with her and Chikane's sweat. Chikane pleaded with her many times throughout the training to take her shirt off. She even offered to give her an extra T-shirt, but Himeko refused. She was also sad because she didn't do as well as she thought. She really thought she disappointed Chikane since she heard her cussing under her breath many times. Chikane saw the disappointment on her face and was about to tell her to stop it, but then she realized that she would make the situation worse. Instead, she went against her nature and offered her some words of encouragement.

"Look, Hime-san, you won't be an expert overnight. It took me years to get to where I at, so don't beat yourself up on this, okay?"

"I understand, sensei, but I want to get it right by the time the day comes." Himeko said with the matching disappointment in her voice.

"Look, you're in a better position than you were three hours ago. You got two of the basic blocking techniques down and we will work on the rest tomorrow. So don't get so worked up over it. Remember what I told you, the best way to defend is to be loose and flexible. Worrying and stress will bring the exact opposite. Besides, they can't do any worse to you than they already have done. At least this time you have better backup."

Himeko nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes, I fully understand, sensei."

"Hey, Hime-san, I know that you are sore but I know this wonderful sentou where they get their water from a hot spring and they have some great Jacuzzis and saunas."

Himeko immediately panicked and said, "No thank you!"

"But it would help relax and heal your muscles."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll just make due. I'll see you later tomorrow," And she quickly walk away. Chikane couldn't understand why she would be so afraid to go to a spa.

How Himeko usually washed herself is that she either went to the sentou near the park during the late hours when nobody else is around, and that's if she had the money to afford it, or scoop up some of the water from the pond and wash herself in the tent. She can't let Chikane see her scars.

Himeko couldn't get enough sleep since there were many things spinning in her head. One of them was how much of a failure she was to Chikane during the training. She thought anybody else who wasn't as weak and as soft as she was would have done better. That inner voice of hers kept on telling her, "Why are you wasting your time on this? They will skill kick your butt no matter what."

The other important matter in her mind was about the showdown. She knew deep in her heart that there had to be a better way to deal with them without resorting to confrontation. She didn't want to see anybody getting hurt over this.

With all that going on in her head, she barely got any sleep. When she woke up it was 10:20 in the morning. She quickly panicked and got herself dressed. She ran all the way to the station and she barely made it on time.

The training went a little bit different this time, as Chikane realized how uncoordinated Himeko was, so she made that the main focus. She also knew that Himeko was tense, so before the training, she had her do some meditation techniques and throughout the training she had her do some deep breathing. By the time the training was over, she was sore as usual, but that didn't matter. Even with all the techniques and meditation she was doing, the upcoming confrontation was still in her mind. She knew she had to do something about it. She had to talk to someone about it.

So she went to St. Teresa and asked for Sister Miyako. The secretary called her up and when she finally arrived she saw the concern on Himeko's face. She knew that Himeko has something very important to tell her.

"Hey, Himeko-san, what are you doing here?"

Himeko was clearly nervous but she knew that she had to do this. She thought it was the right thing to do. So, she swallowed her throat and said, "Sister Miyako, I need to talk to you about something."

+-+-+

Today was the day. It was basically the day of reckoning for everybody.

Himeko was able to get some good rest for once, thinking that she did the right thing. Nekoko on the other hand, didn't get much sleep. She stayed up late training her cats to attack when she gave the command. After they woke up, she and Nekoko went to the Salvation Army homeless shelter and got some breakfast. They didn't say anything at all; they just quietly ate their food. Then they went back to pick up the cats and the props and to wait for Natashi and his crew. It was better that way just in case if the Snake Clan jumped them on their way. As soon as they arrived, they headed to the station. All this time Himeko was thinking in her head, "I hope this works." But her inner voice was telling her, "Nope, it will fail just like everything else you do in your life."

Chikane woke up earlier than usual. Corona was up before her and she knew what was going on so she decided not to bother Chikane, this time. She made sure her tanto was sharp and clean the night before, though she naturally prefers hand-to-hand combat. Chikane was up in knots about this and she knew that wasn't a good thing, so she did some deep meditations in a hidden corner of the station before going outside to where Nekoko was going to hold her performance.

Hana was geared-ready for the confrontation. He was wearing the worn-out coat with the rest of his worn-out clothing. He didn't want to wear anything good, it's very difficult to remove blood stains! Ironically enough, he still had to put on some makeup. He was naturally vain, you know... He also had the necessary weapons for the upcoming melee. Inside his purse was a pair of brass knuckles! He was waiting for the rest of the girls to meet up and head over there. As soon as they arrived they headed straight to the station. Hana wanted to finally put an end to the Snake Clan.

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It was 11:30 am when Himeko, Nekoko, Natashi, and the rest of the crew arrived near the station. Chikane was already there since she didn't have to go too far. As soon as they met Nekoko and Chikane gave each other cold stares but Himeko broke the tension-filled atmosphere with her cheerful greeting.

"Ohayo, Chikane-san, how are you doing."

"Fine, I can't wait to smash the Snake Clan's skulls! That should put an end to those mother-fucking rapists. How are you doing?"

Himeko was taken a bit by Chikane's anger. She responde back nervously "I'm fine too. I think I'm ready to face them."

"Well, that's good to hear. Now do you want me to help you out with the props?"

"Sure! It would make things go faster."

Chikane's offer for help caught Nekoko by surprise as she was noticing the interaction between the two and felt some sort of discomfort about it. But she felt that it wasn't a big deal as this moment so she just started to get the cats ready. There were still some tension in the air until Natashi greeted Chikane, in a very cynical way.

"Well if it isn't none other than the great Miya-sama. Allow this humble servant to bow in your great honor," He said with a mocking tone. As soon as he fully bowed down Chikane smacked him in the back of his head. "OUCH! Why the hell did you do that?" He said while laying one of his hands on the back of his head.

"Consider yourself knighted, sir." Chikane dryly noted. Everyone laughed at the spectacle, even Nekoko found it humorous. Eventually, everybody got back to their respectable jobs and continued on. About three minutes before noon, everything was set and the show began. The show went fine for ten minutes. Everybody was still on their guard and there were no signs of the Snake Clan until during the cats jumping through hoops performance. Not far from the block were the three villains who wanted revenge. They were accompanied by five other men from the other clan..

The Snake Clan's leader was Gin, a stocky and gruff middle-aged man who has a wife and a daughter but left them after his gambling debts skyrocketed. On his left was the young Mazuki, who is in his early twenties and was abandoned by his family because he didn't live up to their expectations. And on his right was the elder yet strong Yasuo, who was beyond 60, in fact he was pushing 90. He once served for the Imperial Army and took part of the 1937 Nanking Massacre and had fought many battles in World War II, so he's no stranger to bloodshed, fighting, and cruelty.

As they approach the area, Nekoko, Chikane, Hana and the girls, and Natashi and his crew took their guard nonchalantly, trying not to get the clan's attention. Himeko was standing behind Chikane in fear. When they finally got to the area Gin spoke directly to Nekoko.

"Alright, kitty cat, the show's over, cause we're here to crash it!" The audience were confused since they didn't know what was going on. Then Gin had a scowling look on his face when he saw Chikane. "I see that Miya-sama is here as well, that means we can finally teach that fucking cunt a lesson." At that moment, curiosity struck when he saw a small patch of wheat-colored hair behind her. "And who is that behind you?"

Chikane finally noticed that Himeko was behind her with her hands on Chikane's waist and was shaking nervously. Chikane whispered, "Remember what I told you Hime-san? Be tough!"

So Himeko came out from behind Chikane and tried to put on her tough face while being on her defensive stance. Gin and the others weren't buying it.

"Well, well. It's that little sweet cake, Himeko. When we're done whipping those two," pointing to Nekoko and Chikane, "We will take good care of you, and Chikane too." He said followed by a sickening kissing gesture and a sinister smile. That rattled Himeko a bit and it made Chikane's skin crawl. Now she really wanted to smash his face.

"You better think again, Gin-san." Hana said with his girls and Natashi and his gang revealing their weapons. "We knew about your plan for a while back so we came along to put an end to it," He said heroically. What he didn't know was that he spoke too soon, for they and everybody else would be taken by surprised from the Snake Clan's following actions.

Gin and the rest of the villains just laughed. Nekoko and the rest of them didn't know what to make out of it, until Gin spoke again.

"So you think you guys have the upper hand? Well, guess what okama? Take a look around you." As they look they saw other men coming from all corners of the area. They were carrying an assortment of weapons. It was clear that they were going to finish them off. Some of the audiences started to flee, fearing the violent melee that was about to occur. "It was all a setup. We knew that Natashi-san was a weasel that was loyal to Nekoko, so we had Mazuki tell him that it was just one clan. We happened to find a lot more people who were disgruntled with Nekoko and the way she ran things at the park, so they were more than happy to join us," Gin said with a sadistic smug on his face.

Hana spoke up and said, "We are not going down without a fight."

"Well if that's how you want then so be it, okama. I'll be more than happy to kick your dicksucking gay ass. It's time for you all to meet your fate, attack!" But before they could do anything a loud voice came from the background.

"This is the police, you and the rest of the punks are all under arrest!" The voice came from Girochi as him and his squad was only a few feet away from the area. Apparently, they were hiding all that time. When Himeko met Sister Miyako, she told her about the upcoming confrontation and Sister Miyako told her brother about it.

Even thought there were far more of them than the police, the villains panicked and started to run. Conversely, some of Natashi's men, who had some past troubles with the law, started to run as well and then the rest of the audience started to panic. This caused quite a bit of chaos in the area, the cops couldn't tell who was what. They were able to arrest the three members of the Snake Clan and a few other villains, but they also accidentally arrested two of Natashi's men and two of Hana's girls, plus they accidentally arrested a few of the audiences whom they mistaken for the villains. Himeko's plan of having a peaceful resolution to the confrontation backfired very badly and she knew it.

After all the commotion died down, Nekoko was furious and she knew who was behind this. She looked at the frightened and extremely shaken Himeko with raging anger.

*****

"WHAT THE HELL, HIMEKO-CHAN!?!" Nekoko screamed at her. "I told you not to tell the fucking cops about this and you still went and did it!"

"I really thought that the police will put an end to it peacefully. I didn't want to see anybody get hurt." Himeko said while sobbing.

"Nobody did get hurt, but we also got many people in jail who shouldn't be there. And we don't have any bail money to get them out. I don't even want to imagine what they're doing to Hana's girls over there."

"You should be asking what MY girls are doing to them over there..." Hana said ruefully. That got a surprised look from everyone, especially Nekoko, but she continued on with her maddening fury.

"We could have ended the Snake Clan and the rest of those goons right there but guess what? The cops are going to either let them go or give them a light sentence as an exhibit for their ‘hard work' and then let them go. Either way, they'll get off easy and they'll come after us to get their revenge. Think about that Himeko!" She yelled to Himeko, looking like here eyes were about to pop out. Himeko was sobbing more than ever.

Chikane has heard enough from Nekoko's big mouth. Her squeaky voice was getting on her, and it sounded even worse when she's mad. She was thinking that Nekoko must have been crazy to think they had a chance to finally put it to the end, so she spoke up after Nekoko finished her tirade. "Nekoko have you been smoking crack? Are you on meth? Did you see how many of them were out there? We were seriously outnumbered. There was no way that we could have taken them all on. You should thank Himeko-san because it could have been worse!" Chikane argued back with the same intensity. "Don't you get it? We were outnumbered Neko-san. We could have been seriously injured. In fact, some of us here could have been dead. The crowd could have been injured and dead as well. At least the police got all the thugs that were involved."

Nekoko was surprised at Chikane's defense for Himeko and at the same time upset about it. She looked at Chikane with spite and chaffed, "Well, since when you have been on Hime-chan's side? After all, you've called her ‘cream puff' a million times behind her back." Himeko looked at her to see if it was true. Chikane didn't say anything but she didn't have to. Her eyes gave Himeko the answer.

"Ever since when she made the wise decision that saved our asses from what could have been an even worse catastrophic disaster. The situation could have been prevented if Natashi and his men didn't over panic," she said as she gave them an icy glare.

Natashi didn't take Chikane's accusation lightly and made his protest very clear, "Hey! Some of my men had criminal records, so they had a reason to panic," Natashi defended.

"But they could have still act calm during the situation, just like what Hana's girls did. I'm sure the policemen knew that they were not part of the gang, after all, they didn't arrest the rest of us," Chikane retorted.

Before Natashi was going to protest again, Hana stepped in and supported Chikane. "She's right. Things could have happen differently if some of us didn't overreact. I know Neko-chan really cares about her circus but if the confrontation went off as planned, the circus' reputation would have been permanently damaged." Hana stated.

Nekoko was stunned that her best friend would actually support Chikane. "I can't believe this. You're siding with this delinquent as well?"

"Yes, I am because that ‘delinquent' is right. I know you like to show yourself as an effective leader that's not afraid of any challenge but in this case it would have been disastrous. I probably would have done the same thing and told Himeko not to tell the police, but it turns out that she made the right choice," he said as he swallowed his pride. That gave Himeko a bit of relief.

Unfortunately, Nekoko couldn't swallow her own pride. She couldn't believe what was going on. She felt like they were ganging up on her when they shouldn't be, after all she's the leader she figured. Before things got worse for her she said, "Ok fine, you can agree with her all you want, but wait until they come back with stronger reinforcement. There's no point in this argument so I'm heading back to my tent!" Nekoko finally stated and she stormed back to her tent.

After she disappeared from sight Hana noted "I swear, that woman can be stubborn like a mule."

"Or stubborn like a cat," Chikane noted, she couldn't resist putting that pun in. Himeko was still in tears, so Chikane came up to her and offered her shoulder to cry onto. Himeko immediately grabbed her and cried her heart out on her shoulders. For Chikane, Himeko's hysterical state was starting to put other ideas into her head. "She's so soft and nice, like how my old love used to be. What am I thinking? She may not be gay and she's in a vulnerable state now."

Himeko on the other hand enjoyed Chikane's rare moment of compassion. She didn't want to let go, so she held her tighter. Hana and the others were shocked that Chikane was actually being compassionate to somebody, but it gave off a lot of signals on his ‘gaydar'. He already suspected that Himeko was gay based on the time he visited her tent, seeing all the drawings, photos, and mangas she had in there. He already knew that Chikane was gay since she told him herself. Eventually, he smiled, seeing that those two would be a good couple.

Chikane eventually spoke up to Himeko. "Look Himeko, you need to get your mind off of this. The day is still young, so let's leave here and go around the city." Hana added further support to Chikane's words, "I agree darling, and it would do a world of a good for you."

Himeko stopped her crying, but she was still sniffling. "Okay Chikane-san, where are we going?"

"Anywhere really, just follow me."

"Okay," Himeko said simply. But before they left Hana had a small word for Chikane

"If you harm the girl, I will -"

Chikane just blew it off and said, "I'm not going to hurt her in any way."

And so they left to explore the wonderful urban jungle of Tokyo.

+++

For their first destination they took a subway from Shinjuku station to Ikebukuro station. Ikebukuro is a downtown area located in the Tomida ward, north of Shinjuku. Just like Shinjuku, Ikebukuro has a lot of stores and activities and their share of the homeless.

While looking through the window, Himeko asked, "Where are we going Chikane-san?"

"We are going to a pool hall. Today, I'm going to show you how to really make some money," Chikane said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"But I don't know how to play pool, and I was always told by my oji-san that gambling was wrong."

"And so is dishonesty, but your oji-san has no problem lying to people, telling them they can be saved if they donate their money to his church." Chikane countered. "Hime-san, if you want to make money here in Tokyo, you've got to hustle."

"But I don't know how to hustle? What if I fail? What if I'm not good enough?" Himeko doubted while her head was down.

"Let me tell you straight up, when it comes to hustling, you can never doubt yourself. Self-doubt is a cardinal sin." Chikane said, thinking that will drive the point in what she perceived to be Himeko's childish mind. However, that didn't make Himeko feel any better, for she still had doubts of herself that she can ever measure up to anybody's especially Chikane's, expectations.

As soon as they got out of the station, they head straight to a pawn show in a somewhat remote location on a back street. Himeko was puzzled.

"Why are we going to a pawn show?"

"To do some window shopping" Chikane replied. As soon as they got there Chikane head for the jewelry section. Most of the jewelry looked the same except for this stunning 18k gold necklace that carried a big ruby stone on it. It had a scratch on the left side of the stone but it still didn't lose its appeal.

"Wow! That necklace is beautiful!" Himeko awed.

"It sure is, Hime-san. I wish I had enough money to afford it."

While Chikane was looking at the jewelry Himeko was looking around the store. She was checking out the DVDs and mangas, seeing if there was anything she liked. She found a rare doujin of Battle Mikos and had enough money to buy it.

After their visit to the pawnshop, they stopped at a billiards hall. The place did not fit stereotypical image of what you expect to be a pool hall. It was clean with little or no smoke. It also had bright lights all over the place and not all the people looked like they just came out of jail or belong to bikers group, though there were a few of them that did. That made Himeko felt a little bit better, though any unfamiliar area will make the sheltered girl scared a bit.

As soon as they entered into the hall, the owner greeted Chikane. It was apparent that she came here quite often with everybody looking at her and cussing about her under their breathes. Chikane looked for an empty pool table and since it was a bit busy at the time, she had to do some searching. Eventually, she found one and paid one of the workers for an hour usage. When she got the billiard balls from the worker, she set them up and gave Himeko a cue stick.

"Have you ever used a cue stick?" she asked even though she felt that she already knew the answer. Himeko nodded no but she added, "But I've seen it done before."

"Okay, then show me," Chikane challenged. Himeko got to the table and set herself up to hit the cue ball. Chikane immediately noticed that she didn't chalk her stick, her positioning was bad, and she was holding the stick wrong. Nevertheless, she didn't say anything and just watched what she was going to do next. As soon as Himeko tried to strike the ball, the cue stick flew out of her hand and landed on the floor. One of the staff was carrying a tray full with beer when he stepped on the cue stick. He slipped and fell. Chikane looked at Himeko and all that Himeko could do was look back sheepishly.

She eventually showed Himeko to proper way to hold a stick and position herself correctly. While she was training Himeko, a man came up to her.

"Hey Miya-san, I challenge you to a game. How much you want to bet?" he said in his proper English accent.

"Well, it's good to see you Watanabe-san. I can wager about 20,000 yen (that's about 222 US dollars, 133 pounds sterling, or 150 euro)" she responded. Henry Watanabe was a half-English, half Japanese man from Manchester, England. He says that he's a professional billiards and snooker player, but she knew it was just a front. His real profession is smuggling stolen European luxury cars and car parts to Japan. The Japanese love European luxury cars and he can sell it for a cheaper price in the black market than what they would pay for in retail.

"That sounds good enough for a game of five, how about it?" he said.

"Sounds good to me," she replied.

And so they started to play. They both won four games each when they got to the decisive ninth game. In that game Chikane had a hot streak going, knocking down five balls in a row before she finally got to the 8-ball. He had four solids left and he was a bit nervous, hoping that something bad happens. He didn't let is show through; instead he was showing the ‘stiff upper-lip' English trademark. Himeko was only a few feet behind her and got excited about it. She wanted to get a closer look to see Chikane make the shot. However, as soon as she started to walk she tripped over herself. Chikane was too focused on the shot to notice that Himeko was behind her. Just when she was about to hit the cue ball Himeko bumped into her. She hit the cue ball but it went into a side pocked and she scratched. Thus, Mr. Watanabe won automatically and he got the 20,000 yen.

He collected the money happily. Then, he told Chikane in his polite-yet-phony English manner, "Thank you very much for the wonderful game. You need to bring you friend quite often." Then he left with a huge smug on his face. Chikane was very upset at Himeko and looked at her angrily. Himeko responded back sheepishly, "Sorry."

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Next, they went to the Shibuya district. They went to a bakery but it really was a front for an illegal gambling racket. It was owned by the notorious gangster, Kazuya. In addition to various gambling joints, he also runs a ruthless drug, prostitution, and racketeering business. One of the gambling activities that occurred in the building is Mahjong.

As they were walking to the building Chikane spoke. "Okay, Himeko. I'm going to play a game of Mahjong. Now, I don't want you to start a conversation with anyone over there. All you do is say ‘hi' and that's it, understand?" Himeko nodded her head in agreement. As soon as they got into the bakery they head to the backroom. Chikane knocked on the door and the doorman peeped out through the peephole. He recognized Chikane but not Himeko, so when he opened the door he immediately questioned her.

"Who is this little girl?" he demanded. The doorman himself wasn't very big but he was rather muscular and had a strong Aikido background as Chikane noted to Himeko before they met him.

"This is Kurusugawa Himeko, and she is with me," Chikane stated.

"I don't see a girl like you very often, nice to meet you ma'am," as he bowed and smiled. Himeko bowed back in politeness. It was obvious that he was hitting on Himeko, he's usually not that friendly to guest. For some reason Chikane felt uncomfortable about it, to the point that she felt rather angry. Immediately, she frowned at him and said, "Can you just tell me if there's a game going on?" Taken back by surprise of her frankness, he responded "Hey, I didn't know, arigatou gomen. There are two going on." He knew Chikane well enough that she meant a game of Mahjong. Chikane and Himeko immediately headed upstairs. In the back of her mind, Himeko was surprised that the men thought that they were a couple.

While they were heading upstairs, Himeko asked Chikane, "Are you really good at Mahjong?"

"Good?" She looked at her with a ‘whatever' look. "Girl, I'm great. I'm so great Hatsune Mai comes to me for advice!" Of course Himeko knew that Chikane was exaggerating but she found it funny nevertheless. There was no way that the first ever Mahjong World Champion would come to a street girl for advice.

The environment in the upper floor was almost the exact opposite of the pool hall. The area was full of smoke as Himeko started to cough, she wasn't used to it even though her oba-san was a big smoker. It was also dimly lit. Untypically associated with this type of environment were people from various walks of life in the floor. There were your typical thugs and gangsters of course, but there were also businessmen and even a few women were gambling. And they were of different ethnicity and race: black, brown, yellow, white, and even red! Unlike other areas of Tokyo, and of Japan in general, it didn't matter one bit who you were. The only thing that mattered around there was the amount of yen you was carrying.

Chikane headed directly to the Mahjong room with Himeko trailing behind like a little kid. The person running the game was Ken Narita, Kazuya's right-hand man. He and everybody else knew her very well. They also knew about her attitude and her fighting ability, thus they knew it was not wise to mess with her. She waited a few minutes before the next available and then proceed to play the game. Himeko sat a safe distance away from her, making sure that she didn't do anything stupid. When she got in the game, she was dealt with her first set of tiles and put in her money in the pot. An average game of four-people mahjong takes about ten to fifteen minutes and that one was no different. In that one Chikane lost, but she went on to win the next one.

Over an hour passed and Chikane was clearly winning. By then she had around 40,000 yen and decided to play her final game. Himeko was excited that she was winning, but she knew better than to act like a cheerleader, so she kept her excitement to herself and just smiled when she won. It was a wise choice as she won 10,000 yen in that game. There was a huge grin on her face as well as Himeko's. She pulled out her plastic bag and collected the remaining money and then started to head out.

While they were leaving the place, Himeko said "Wow, this is great! You were really good!"

"I sure am," Chikane smiled confidently. While Ken was collecting all the tiles he noticed something, there were two extra Wind tiles in the pile. They were part of the melds used by Chikane to win her games. Literally, Chikane had some tiles in her coat sleeves and some of the must have fell out. He immediately notified the rest of the players and then they looked out of the window. They were able to spot Chikane and Himeko among the small crowd outside. Fortunately for Chikane, Himeko looked up and saw the people looking at them and she notified Chikane, "Chikane-san, why are they looking at us?"

"Huh?" Chikane was dumbfounded at first until she looked up as well and saw Ken's head sticking out of the window. She immediately knew that they found out and her shocked expression gave it away that she had been caught. Without a moment to spare, she told Himeko to run. "Run, Hime-san, run!"

"Huh, what's going on?" She asked with some cluelessness.

"Don't ask questions, just run!"

And so they took off. The operation along with the doorman and the players whom Chikane screwed over chased after them. Chikane was the faster of the two and was carrying the bag. Himeko was trying desperately to catch up with Chikane and at the same time trying to evade the men. As they ran through the busy streets of Shibuya, they were darting through the crowd. Chikane was trying her best to lose them but they were still on hers and Himeko's tail.

About a few moments later she was running on the street. She didn't notice the ‘Do not walk' signal was on and a car speeding by nearly ran her. She was instantly startled by the car's horn and threw her hands up in the air. Unfortunately, when she did that, the bag went up in the air and all the money came out of it. Everybody who was nearby immediately ran for the money, including the driver of the car. Chikane nearly got knocked over by the crowd and was really disappointed as she watched the frantic crowd collect the money.

"Oh, shit."

With little to no money, she knew that there was only one other way to make some money.

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In a dark and isolated alley somewhere in Tokyo lies a teal-haired man who looked dirty and unkempt. He had the place surrounded with aluminum foil that, according to his fragile mind, will block gamma ray from Jupiter from frying his brain. He has been here for a few weeks after escaping from the mental institution. All the policemen in the greater Tokyo area have been alerted, but to most of them he's just another perp, so they didn't bother putting a lot of energy into finding him.

The man was Tsubasa Oogami, Souma's older biological brother, and he has treatment-resistant paranoid schizophrenia.

His world is full of paranoia, thinking that everything is out to get him, whether its gamma rays from Jupiter, KGBs, blue deamons, and spy cameras. He lives off of the wasted food in trashes and only comes out in night, thinking the spy cameras won't spot him. He constantly hears ‘voices' in his head, telling various things.

Just like anyone with a severe case of schizophrenia his sentences are incoherent; he is very negligent about his appearance, and he is very unbalanced and volatile.

He thinks he's on a mission, and that is to find his baby brother and to save him from all the ‘evils' in this world. He still thinks Souma is still a child.

While he is in the alley, he keeps on hearing internal ‘voices’ in his head. “We’re coming to kill you. We’re coming to kill you. We’re coming to…”

He starts to scream. “No, you’re not! Kill me you can’t! Stop it, stop it!” And he hurled himself to the wall, holding his ears, thinking it will stop the noise. Then he started to go crazy, throwing the trash cans all over the place. It was an isolated place so no one could hear his psychotic rage. The rage was starting to wear him down and then all of a sudden, the voices stopped. Then another thought came in his head.

"Baby brother. Must save. Baby brother. Must save." And with the remaining energy he had, he left the alley to find Souma.

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When she got back to the park, she told Himeko to meet her at the station around midnight, which was unusually late but she agreed nevertheless. All the running and excitement for that day made Himeko tired and she took a nap. She got up around 11 pm, got herself dressed, and headed to the station. When she met Chikane, she noticed the mid-sized, navy-blue zipper bag she was carrying.

"Hey Chikane, where are we going at this time of the night? And what is that bag for?"

"I will answer your questions later, just come with me now," she commanded.

"Okay," Himeko obeyed. She was secretly hoping that it wasn't something bad. They took the subway back to Ikebukuro station and head right back to the pawn shop. Deep down inside, Himeko knew it wasn't going to be a good thing. Instead of going through the front side they went to the back of the store. Chikane made sure that no one noticed that they were in the back. By then Himeko didn't have a good feeling about this and unfortunately she knew what Chikane was about to do, but she asked nevertheless.

"Ano Chikane, what are we doing back here?" She was afraid that she already knew the answer. Chikane didn't bother to answer her question; instead she opened the bag and took out some dark clothing. She put on her clothing then she put on a black ski mask. Remember earlier when she was checking out the jewelry in the store? Well Himeko remembered as well and she was shocked. Her silence made her intentions clear to Himeko. "You're not going to steal the jewelry are you!?!" She said somewhat loudly.

"Ssshhhh! Be quiet! I don't want to attract any attention here!" Chikane whispered.

"But what you are doing is wrong! Plus what if you got caught?"

"I won't get caught and don't pass any moral judgments on me right now, I'm not in the mood. Please watch out in the front and notify me if the cops are coming."

"But how?" she asked. She can't believe that Chikane was going through this.

"Here you go," she said as she handed her a pre-paid phone. "Call this number here if somebody comes." Himeko was still stunned when she handed the phone to her. Chikane patience were a little thin and she told her "Look, are you going to help me or not?" Himeko wasn't sure if she should or not, knowing what she was doing was wrong, but she didn't want to see her get in trouble so she agreed to reluctantly. With her approval, Chikane continued on with her plan.

She had already cased the area a long time ago and knew what type of security they had and where it was located. She knew where the alarm's power source was located and she short-circuited it with her tools. Then she opened the back door to the store with some tools she managed to get from a locksmith. With the security disabled she was able to freely roam around the store. When she got to the jewelry section, she opened the glass with a glasscutter and proceeds to take all the jewelry in the display section, including the necklace with the scratched ruby she had her eyes on. After she got some of the jewelry she quickly left the place. She knew better than to get too greedy and that was a good thing because it was only ten minutes later when a policewoman in foot patrol checked the store out. She got a call from the security saying the store's alarm was not responding.

As soon as she left the store, Chikane changed back to her regular clothing and they nonchalantly left the area. Himeko was upset about this and brought it up when they were in a dark alley.

"Don't you know you could have gotten in big trouble?" she protested.

"Yeah, but I didn't, and that's all that really matters."

"But what you just did is wrong!"

"Will you grow up little girl!?! This ain't the wonderful world of Disney. This is real life, girlfriend, and you got to make ends meet. It's called survival and you got to do whatever it takes."

"But there are other ways to make it." She said rather naively.

Chikane knew that Himkeo was really naive but she never knew the extent of it until now. "You really are a naïve bitch? I don't have a bunch of flea-carrying cats to make a circus like Neko-san, nor do I have a singing voice like my annoying next-door neighbor. What I do have is a fist and a brain and I'm going to use them to the fullest. Do I make myself clear?" Himeko dared not to future argue with Chikane, thinking that Chikane was right and she was wrong. After all, Chikane was much more streetwise than she was, so she reluctantly said, "Okay."

During the trip back to Shinjuku, Himeko wanted to get her mind off of the burglary, so she brought up something. "Do you know a good place to eat?"

"What made you bring that up?"

"Well my birthday is coming up and maybe me and Neko-chan can go somewhere?"

"When is your birthday?"

"This coming Friday (October 1, 2004)."

"Really?" Chikane said with a surprised look on her face.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because that is also happens to be my birthday."

"Really? That's great! Then maybe we can celebrate our birthday together" Himeko said cheerfully. Coincidence can be a good thing, for Himeko's case it was a great thing!

"That's sounds great to me!" Chikane agreed. She was already passed her anger with Himeko at that point. For some reason she liked the ideal of celebrating her birthday with Himeko. This was uncharacteristic for the reclusive loner Chikane. She couldn't understand why she did; maybe she was starting to rub off of her.

When they got back to Shinjuku, they headed to Himeko's tent. No light was coming from Nekoko's tent, therefore she must be asleep. This was the first time that Chikane came inside the tent. Usually, she came short of entering inside because she didn't want to hear Nekoko's squeaky annoying voice but since she was sleeping, she didn't have to worry.

While inside Himeko turned on the battery-powered lamp and got her sleeping bag out. Some of Nekoko's cats were sleeping inside. This is not unusual since some of the cats bonded with Himeko, especially the one Himeko chased after.

Himeko acquired more stuff from various trash dumps and it was screaming out ‘Kawaii!' She had her usual drawing all over the tent, with drawings of anime characters and also of Disney and Sanrio characters, mostly female. Inside the tent were stuff animals of such notable Disney characters such as Minnie Mouse, Chip n' Dale, and others. There were also stuff animals of Sanrio characters such as Hello Kitty, Cinnamo, and others. She had a Little Mermaid alarm clock on her nightstand. It was a gift from Nekoko, she thought it was useful since she always woke up late.

It left an unusual impression on Chikane. She didn't know whether she entered a tent of a girl turning sixteen or that of one turning six! As she looked at drawing of Ariel from The Little Mermaid she was amazed at the near-duplicate quality of the drawing.

"Did you do all these drawings, Himeko-san?"

Himeko nodded, "Yep! Do you like them?" She said, secretly hoping that she would like them.

"I sure do. You would make a great mangaka." Then an idea came in her head. "Why haven't you sold any of them?"

"I don't think anybody would like them. My oba-san didn't like them," she said with disappointment.

"Man, fuck that bitch!" Chikane inadvertently blurted out. Himeko was shocked at her cussing tone. Chikane quickly covered her mouth in shame. She thought that she should have known better than to talk like that around Himeko. "Sorry I didn't mean for it come out that way."

"It's okay," for Himeko quietly agreed to what Chikane thought of her aunt.

"What I really meant to say was that your oba-san can't recognize your talent. We can make some serious money here. Can you draw people?"

Himeko nodded as she pointed to the various drawings of people in her tent.

"And can you draw quick?"

"I sure can. I had to in my art club since we had tight deadlines."

"Good, tomorrow meet me at the station and bring any necessary art supplies. I'll be your manager; I'll protect you and make sure that nobody will take advantage of you."

"Do you serious think we could make some money off of this?"

"Of course we can with your skills." Chikane tried her best to assure Himeko of the success.

"I hope so," She said then she yawned, she was clearly tired.

"Look, get your rest and meet me around 11:00 am. Our training hasn't end but it will be cut down a bit."

"I understand."

"Now have a good night," she said as she leaves the tent. Himeko eventually went to sleep with a smile on her face. She didn't have any nightmares; in fact, she only had one since that night in Nekoko's tent.

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When she got to the station, she carried her art supplies with her and her workout clothes as well. They did their training, albeit only an hour, and then they head back to the station. While they were outside, Himeko set up her equipment and Chikane put up a sign saying, "Get yourself drawn for 1,000 yen (around 12 USD)."

It was going on fine for a few days, but Chikane was getting bored so she whipped out her harmonica and started to play a few tunes. Himeko was surprised; she never knew that Chikane could play the harmonica or any type of musical instrument. The harmonica seemed to work as they were beginning to attract more people and made more money. When they had a small break, Himeko brought it up to her.

"Wow, how did you learn how to play the harmonica?"

"I learned how to play it and a few other musical instruments at my koji."

"How many can you play?"

"Well, besides the harmonica I can play the flute, guitar, drums, and most of all, the piano."

"Wow, that's amazing! How did you learn all that those instruments?"

"Well, there really isn't much to do there, so just to keep myself busy I decided to learn some music."

"So, you say that you play the piano the best? Can you play for me some day?"

"Sure, I would love to." Chikane said, she wouldn't do such a favor for anyone but since Himeko has done a lot for her, it's the least she can do in return. About an hour later, a young teenage couple came up to the girls.

"Hi there, can you draw me and my boyfriend together?" said the young girl.

"She sure can for 1,000 yen," Chikane said before Himeko could speak up. For the most part, Chikane did the talking. Himeko didn't complain since she preferred it that way.

"Who are you?" the boyfriend scoffed at Chikane.

"I'm her manager and I'm here to make sure nothing happens to her. Now are you going to pay the 1,000 yen or not?" she said with her usual no-nonsense attitude, looking straight at Souma's eyes.

The couple just looked at each other and then handed the cash to Chikane. Then the girl said something before Himeko started her drawing.

"I want you to put near the bottom ‘Always together, Souma and Makoto'."

"Of course, that shouldn't be a problem Himeko-san?"

"Nope, not at all," she replied.

"Okay then, she'll put it on there."

"That's great!" Makoko shouted in her usual excited tone.

She then started to draw the loving couple while Chikane started to play on her harmonica. It took her only twenty minutes to finish the drawing. When she was done she showed it to the couple and they were amazed at the quality.

"Wow! You really are a little Genso!" she exclaimed. That brought a huge smile on Himeko's face, being compared to a legendary artist.

"Yeah, could you imagine some of her artwork at the temple? Onii-chan would be impressed," Souma said to Makoto.

"He sure would. Here, have an extra 500 yen." Makoto gave to Chikane in goodwill and then they left. That brought a smile to Chikane's face.

"They seem to be a nice couple," Himeko concluded.

"Probably. Here's the 500 yen, it's yours." Chikane handed the money to her graciously.

"Thanks!"

"No problem. It's getting late, so let's go home now."

"Okay." Himeko said and she started to gather her equipment.

When they got to her tent, Himeko started to put away the equipment. While she was putting away the equipment, one of the paints she was carrying spilled on her shirt, making a big mess. Chikane saw the mess and commanded her to take off the shirt. Himeko was reluctant at first.

"Don't be stupid and take off the shirt. You're wearing a bra aren't you?"

"Yes," she answered meekly.

"Than just take off your shirt, I'm a woman too! You're not showing me anything I haven't seen before!"

Himeko knew she had no choice but to take off the shirt, so she hesitantly took it off. When she took it off, Chikane eyes nearly jumped out. She saw the bruises on her stomach, the cigarette burns on her forearms, and what looked an iron burnt mark on her.

"Oh my God." As soon as she said that Himeko started to shed tears. "Did those bastards did all that to you?" Himeko knew that she mean her relatives and she shook her head in affirmation. "Please, tell me what happened to you when you were living there. I need to know everything."

Himeko paused for a while, trying to muster everything she can to tell her story without breaking down. She was beginning to cry profusely as the painful memories of abuse started to rush into her mind.

"My relatives used to beat me a lot, mostly my oba-san but sometimes my oji-san as well. They used to whip me not only with belts, but with wire hangers, electrical cords, basically anything they can get their hands on. They also used to throw me against the wall, smack me, and one time my oba-san kicked me down the steps." Chikane was boiling mad at what she was hearing. If she met her relatives, especially her aunt, she would immediately beat the shit out of them. The painful experiences happened a long time ago, yet they felt like they were just yesterday to Himeko.

Himeko hesitantly continued, "They would beat me even for simple things such as forgetting to put out the trash or touching her cigarettes," she said as she looked at the cigarette burns on her right forearm. It was hard for her to see them with her tears covering up her eyes but she still looked at those damaging scars. "They would also call me names such as stupid, dumb whore, otaku-girl, retard, and those other bad words. It didn't help matters that people in school were doing the same thing while bullying me.

For the most part, I kept it to myself, didn't speak up or sought help. There was that time where I did spoke up, but, but -" Himeko couldn't say anything as she cried even more. Chikane saw the pain in her face but she knew she had to hear it from Himeko.

"What happened Hime-san? Please, tell me."

Himeko used every ounce of strength in her tender body to regain her composure and said, "One time, I really got upset when my oba-san threw away my manga and anime DVDs, that I stormed into her room and called her a freaking witch, only I didn't exactly said ‘freaking witch'," she said with a shameful look on her face. Chikane fully understood what she actually said. "She told me not to talk to her like that again and I told her to shut the ‘f' up!" Chikane was stunned at what she heard; she didn't think Himeko had it in her. "That was my fault right there. I felt so ashamed of cursing to my oba-san, that was very un-Christian. God was probably mad at me for doing that."

Chikane had to try her best to resist rolling her eyes but she also knew that it wasn't a trivial issue to Himeko and didn't treat it as such, "Himeko you were just being human, there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with being upset to someone who had wronged you. Yes you cursed but you had every right to get angry at your oba-san. I seriously doubt that God would be mad at you for that."

Himeko agreed but with some reluctance, not totally sure that Chikane was right, "That's probably true but I should have known better. She was ironing her clothes and then after that she -"

Himeko couldn't complete her sentence, instead she balled out crying. That particular experience had the deepest scar on her, physically, emotionally, and worst of all, mentally. She didn't need to complete it since Chikane already knew what happened. Now Chikane knew where that iron mark came from. She came up a bit closer to Himeko and held her to her shoulders as Himeko continued to cry.

While still sobbing on her shoulder's, Himeko mumbled, "My oba-san kept on telling me that I'm a big disappointment, and she's right, I'm nothing more than a big disappointment." Himeko said as she broke down, exposing the root of her lack of self-confidence. Just that sentence alone told Chikane her life story. Everything in her life pretty much revolved around that belief she had on herself. It made her underachieved, resign, be submissive, and surrender. Nothing brought her more pain than that thought she had in herself and it didn't help matters that her inner conscious continuously fed it.

Chikane did her best to comfort her as she was crying her heart out on her shoulders. She realized how much that girl was hurting inside. She vowed from that point on to always be there for Himeko, for deep inside she knew that Himeko would be there for her as well. For once in a long time she was willing to trust someone, to finally open up to someone. While Himeko was holding her, she felt some marks on Chikane's back. She was only wearing a shirt with a bra so it wasn't hard to feel them. Could it be that she also went through the same thing that Himeko did?

The painful thought was so traumatizing, that it took her a while to finish her crying. When she did Chikane told her, "Look, you're far away from your relatives. You don't have to worry about them right now and you don't have to let their nonsense control your life. You are not a disappointment."

"But I haven't done anything for them or for anyone else to make them happy," she said.

"Bullshit! You have done a lot of wonderful things for everybody. You did a lot for Neko-san, for Hana-chan, for those people who you painted for, and for me. Yes, you've made you share of mistakes like the incident with the Snake Clan but who hasn't. Don't beat yourself up because a bunch of holy-rolling fanatics or a simple-minded catgirl can't appreciate how wonderful you are. I appreciate you very much."

With that Himeko started to smile, nobody has ever told her that. It was a different feeling from the usual what she would expect. Chikane finished it off with, "Look Himeko-san, get some rest for now and don't let the past control your life." That was some good advice from Chikane, if only Chikane herself could live by them as well...

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As the days gone by, she was spending more time with Chikane. She was really enjoying being around her. She was also starting to notice her attraction to Chikane but she didn't know if she felt the same way. Did she still have feelings for that girl in the locket? Yet at the same time she was spending less time with Nekoko. Nekoko was starting to avoid her, feeling that she was getting too close to her arch-enemy. Himeko sensed that she was avoiding her but she still considered Nekoko her friend. So, she tried in vain to see Nekoko whenever she can, but she was either asleep or not around. It made her sad that she couldn't spend any time with her.

On Chikane's end, she was also enjoying her time with Himeko, as much as she didn't want to admit it. It was good to be around with someone you can trust, which she couldn't say that for a lot of people. Her kindness and selflessness was starting to impact her in a good way. She started to look forward to meeting Himeko everyday. Could she be in love? No, she though, she couldn't be in love with her. Her heart belong to the girl in the locket, even as long gone as she was. She made a vow not to love anyone else ever again and she's sticking with it.

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It was around 1:00 am on October 1, 2004 when Himeko and Chikane went into her tent. They just came from their now-ritual night of walking together where Himeko took a lot of pictures. Unbeknownst to Himeko, Chikane brought a gift for her birthday.

"I got something for you."

"Really? What is it?"

"Close you eyes first and open your hands."

"Okay," she said sweetly and she did as Chikane commanded. She pulled out a red bow hairpiece and put it on her hands. Himeko opened her eyes and got excited.

"Happy birthday!" Chikane said excitedly.

"Wow, it's a bow! Is this for my hair?"

"Yep, let me put it on for you." Himeko gleefully obliged and Chikane proceed to put the hairpiece on. Himeko checked it out on her mirror and she thought it looked adorable.

"Thank you so much!" she said happily as she gave a hug to Chikane. Himeko decided to return Chikane the favor as well.

"I got a gift for you as wel1!"

"Is that so? What is it? Where is it?"

Himeko had it hidden behind her nightstand as she pulled it out. It was a painting of the girl in Chikane's locket. She painted the drawing and had it framed.

"Happy birthday!" Himeko elated.

As soon as Chikane saw it, she started to shed some tears. It was very clear to Himeko that the girl had a strong emotional effect on Chikane. With tears burning her eyes, she finally spoke her name.

"Otoha..."

*****

"So, you know?" Chikane sobbed.

"Know what? That she was someone important in your life?"

"Yes, she was," she said with more clarity in her voice as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Was Otoha her name?"

"Yes, Kisaragi Otoha was her name. She was in my orphanage."

"Is she still there?"

When Himeko asked that question Chikane started to cry even more, not wanting to fully answer the question.

"No, not at all," she tearfully answered.

"There where is she?" Himeko innocently asked.

It took all the strength and energy she had in her body just to answer Himeko's simple question. While the answer was simple enough, it was not easy for Chikane to respond.

"She's gone."

Himeko was stunned when she said that. She knew exactly what Chikane meant.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry Chikane-san. You must be going through a lot terrible pain losing someone you love very much."

"Well her death is part of it but there's more to it."

Himeko was completely tuned in and focused when she said, "Really? Could you please tell me about it?"

The last thing Chikane wanted to do was to relive the pain she went through, but she knew it was only fair to tell Himeko about it since Himeko told about hers.

"When I told you that I was an orphan at St. Fuukino's, I lied."

Himeko looked at Chikane with a bit of surprise but she simply said, "Oh."

"The truth was I was an orphan at Our Lady of Sorrows orphanage in southern Mahoroba."

Himeko was totally shocked. She knew about Our Lady of Sorrows orphanage and its notorious reputation throughout Japan. Considered to be the most brutal all-female orphanage in Japan, it was aptly called ‘the hellhole.' It was a reformatory school/orphanage where all the trouble-making kids, orphan or not, were sent. From that point on, Himeko knew the story wasn't going to be a happy one.

"Oh my goodness, I've heard about the place. Is it as bad as they say it is?"

"Even worse," she said with a hard scowling look on her face. "My whole family died in a horrible bus accident when they were coming from a picnic during a family reunion. The bus fell of a cliff while coming down a mountain. I was only an infant so I only know what the nuns and the newspaper clippings told me. They said I was extremely lucky since I was the only survivor in the accident. Since all my family members perished in the accident and I had no other living relatives, I was sent to an orphanage.

I was shipped around many orphanages throughout Japan, mostly for lack of space. I felt like I was just another kid that they could care less about, so I became rebellious. I got myself in trouble many times in many orphanages. I beginning to be viewed as a problem child and so they decided to send me to Our Lady of Sorrows."

Then the tears started to roll again right after she mentioned the orphanage's name, "I was sent there when I was 11 years old. The people over there were terrible. I remember the first day when I was there, this big nun came up to me and asked what my name was and I refused to answer. Looking back, that was foolish of me. She asked me two more times and I refused both times, so she got fed up and punched me in the stomach then she picked me up and held me in the air by the collar of my shirt. She then told me that I was her bitch now and that I better do as she said or else she would do worse. At that moment, I knew I was in a prison."

Himeko didn't say anything vocally but her eyes said it all. She was rather taken aback to Chikane's story so far, yet this was only the tip of the iceberg.

"We were treated like animals in that place: terrible foods, strict orders, lack of free time, and lots of beatings even for simple things. For example, if I said my penance wrong, they would hit me with a ruler. They will beat you with anything they got their hands on: electrical cords, belts, shoelaces, whips, even metallic objects." To Himeko, it sounded just like when she was living with her relatives. "They also played a lot of mind games with us, such as stealing a precious item from one kid and making it look like another kid did it so that the two kids would fight each other. They created an atmosphere where nobody could trust each other, everybody was for themselves. And that wasn't the worse of it. What's the worst part about that hellhole? It's - it's -"

At that point Chikane burst out crying, the memories were so painful she couldn't complete her sentence. Himeko realized how much pain she was in and did her best to reassure her.

"It's OK Chikane-san. It's all in the past, you can tell me," she said while hugging her and comforting her as best as she could. She cried for a good while before she regained her composure and continued on.

"There were times during the day, and sometimes in the night, where the nuns paid a personal visit with you. They would take you to an isolated area in the building and then they would..." Chikane choked up for a bit and struggled to complete her sentence. "They would strip you naked and have their way with you. In order words, they would molest you." After that confession Chikane totally broke down and cried profusely again.

That was the ultimate shocker to Himeko. She couldn't believe what she heard. Now it all made sense to her why Chikane was mean to people. Himeko didn't say anything, letting Chikane continue her story, but she was thinking "Oh my, poor Chikane."

"They did all sorts of sickening things to me, and they also made me do all sorts of disgusting things to them. But it wasn't just me; it was pretty much most of the girls in the orphanage. I was basically their fuck doll, fulfilling their sick pedophilic fantasies. They used every sex toy you could think of on me. Everybody talks about the priests and their perverted ways, but no one ever talks about some of the evil shit the nuns have done. I can personally tell you that the nuns are just as sick, deviated, and perverted as the priests."

It was hard for Himeko to hear all this, but she knew it was even harder for Chikane to tell her all this, so she listened with a sympathetic ear. Himeko was also starting to cry.

Chikane continued on with her story, "It was four years of hell being in that place, but after I turned 13, a great thing happened in my life, Otoha. The minute I met her I knew she was going to change my life forever. We immediately became close, spending lots of time together. We were virtually inseparable. We shared about everything you can image to each other. We talked a lot about stuff that any orphaned kid would talk about, such as traveling around the world, what it would be like to have cool parents, and other things.

There was nothing between us in the beginning, we were just good friends. However, I was building up an attraction for her. It was hard for me to understand it at first since I never felt that way for anybody. The irony was that the nuns would punish us if they saw any of us kissing, hugging, or showing any type of affection to each other, hypocrites. Eventually, I did understand what I was feeling and had learned to accept it.

Her birthday was coming up and I wanted to give her something special, but since I had no money I couldn't buy her a gift. I knew I had to so her how much I care for her so I decided that I will give her a kiss. When her birthday came, we had a private celebration and that's when I gave her a kiss. That surprised her a bit, but it was me who got the biggest surprise when she kissed back! A little bit later she confessed to me that she felt the same way for me. From that moment on, we became lovers and it was the only good thing that came out of that place, but our love for each other was not enough.

The nuns knew about our relationship and they used it to their advantage. They tried to play mind game with us but it wouldn't work, so they gave us lots of beatings. They used the Bible on us, telling us how our relationship was going against the will of God. Those damn hypocrites were no better than us. In fact, I think they were spying on us when we made love the first time," she said as she was nearly breaking down.

With all those painful beatings, terrible sexual assaults, and their hypocritical double-standards, we couldn't endure it anymore, we wanted it to end. So about nine months ago, we felt that the only way to get out of our suffering predicament was to commit suicide. I was able to sneak in a razor from a First Aid kit and we went to a back room. We declared our love to each other for the last time and then we slit our wrists. She did it first then I followed. We were holding each other hands while the blood was pouring out of our wrists. Eventually, I passed out. I don't remember much after that besides waking up in the hospital. I was told that one of the nuns found me and they rushed both of us to the hospital. Somehow I lived, but Otoha didn't.

I recovered soon enough to attend her funeral. While I was looking at her casket, I couldn't stop thinking why I lived and she didn't. I didn't go in the bus with the rest of the kids, instead a priest drove me back to the orphanage. During the trip back, he stopped on a red light. Something inside of me told me that now was the time to escape, so I quickly opened the door and bolted as fast as I can through the incoming traffic. There were a lot of horns blasting at me but I didn't care, I was not going back to that place alive. I rather get splattered by an SUV than to go back there. He chased me for a while but eventually I was able to lose him.

For two days, I was hiding at various places throughout Mahoroba, trying to get some food and money to leave the area. I knew they were looking for me, thus I knew I had to get out of town instantly and that's exactly what I did. When I had enough money to take a train, the first available train was the Fuji line from Mahoroba Station to Shinjuku Station. I figured that Tokyo was a good distance away from Mahoroba so I took it, and that's how I ended up here."

After she said that she started to cry even more. It was heavier than ever and it took her a while to stop crying. Himeko didn't say anything, she knew it was best to let her cry her heart out. That story told it all, about her cold and reserved persona and why she can't trust anyone.

In time, Himeko spoke, "I wish I could go back in time and stop all those things from happening to you Chikane-chan. But I can't. What I can do is help make things better for you right now and in the future. Just like how I wish I never had my relatives adopt me. We can't let our past control us, as you told me the other day." Himeko stated.

"You're right, I got to move on. I can't erase my past nor can I bring Otoha back to life, as much as I want to. Nevertheless, I'm surprise that you didn't see anything wrong about our relationship."

Himeko paused a bit and told her, "No I don't. In fact I'm a bian myself."

"Really?" Chikane said. Now it made sense as to why she made a lot of female anime and cartoon characters drawings.

"Yes, that was part of the reason why I ran away from home."

"I thought that was because they were abusive jerks."

"Well, that was the other part of it. One day, she went into my closet and saw my drawings. Some of them were of naked women. Others were of them kissing each other. The moment she saw that, she went berserk and beat the living daylights out of me with a wire hanger." Chikane closed her eyes tightly and could visually imagine what Himeko went through since she went through it herself. "About a few weeks later, while they went to a conference in the Philippines, I saw a letter from my mother. It was the usual letter, asking me how life was going, how school was doing, how she's glad to hear that everything was fine, etc. The only thing was that I've never seen any of those letters before, so I think that my relatives replied back as me."

Chikane had that scowling look returned to her face when she heard how Himeko's relatives used her.

As Himeko continued, "It was also the first sign of hope. The only people I knew in my life were my relatives and their friends. I couldn't run away to them, they would send me back to my relatives. Finally, I knew someone who could save me from my relatives. Unfortunately I didn't have any personal money to get to Tokyo. Also, there wasn't anything on the letter saying exactly where she lived in Tokyo, but it didn't matter, I just wanted to leave that place no matter what. So I went into their bedroom and took some money from their dresser. Of course I prayed to God to forgive me for stealing their money. Then I took as much stuff as I could and left the mansion. I took the same train you took directly to here. When I got here, I went to the city hall and asked if they can help me find her, but they couldn't. For the first week, I stayed at a hostel, until my money ran out. Then I was forced to live on the streets, and here I am right now."

Chikane was amazed to hear a story that was as interesting as hers.

"So I see that you took a big risk just like me?"

Himeko nodded, "Yes, but I don't think it was that big of a risk. It was an even bigger risk staying there." Chikane nodded back in agreement. Himeko then asked her a question, "Chikane, I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"If you're such a good fighter, then why didn't you beat up the nuns?"

Chikane wasn't surprised that she would ask such a question, "Well, those nuns were also the same ones who trained me in Karate. It would be useless to use it on them."

All that Himeko could say was, "Oh."

Not too long after, Chikane realized that it was very late, "Oh shit, I got to get back to the station. I promise to meet someone there in the morning." Someone that she can sell some of the jewelry to, as she purposely omitted that part to Himeko.

"Well it was nice having you here. Do you know what we are going to do for our birthday tomorrow?" For some reason, a part of Himeko didn't want to see Chikane leaving, but she didn't want to hold her like a prisoner either.

"For tomorrow night, yes, but not for the daytime," Chikane stated.

"Well that's good! I already know what we can do tomorrow."

"What are we going to do?" Chikane asked with some curiosity.

"I'll tell you tomorrow, until then, good night and happy birthday!"

As Chikane left the tent she replied back, "You too have a good night and happy birthday!" And she headed straight to the station. Himeko was outside of the tent, looking at her figure until she no longer saw her.

Little did they know that Nekoko was up and she was watching and listening to them all that time...

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It was around 9 am when Himeko woke up. The Little Mermaid alarm clock went off and she woke up instead of doing her usual habit of hitting the snooze button. Today was an exciting day for Himeko since it was her birthday and she was turning sixteen. The day seemed exciting to Himeko as she looked forward towards the activities for the day. One of them was a Battle Mikos convention, thought Chikane didn't know about it yet. It was an exciting day and she wanted her best friend to come along. So Himeko came to Nekoko's tent and said, "Me and Chikane are celebrating our birthdays together! We are going to a Battle Mikos convention, then we are going to do something tonight, do you want to join us?"

Nekoko, not wanting to have anything to do with Chikane but didn't want to hurt Himeko's feelings, said, "Thanks but no thanks. You two can go ahead without me."

"But it will be fun! And we haven't done anything with each other for a while."

"That's good and all but don't forget about my seizures. What if my seizures occur in a public area?"

She did forget about her seizures, although Nekoko was using it as an excuse.

"I see, but could you at least come to the convention with us?" she elated.

"Hime-chan, you know I'm not into that type of stuff," she said in a matter-of-fact fashion.

"That's true. But do you want me to bring you something?"

Nekoko was always amazed at Himeko's selflessness, but at that time she found it annoying.

"No thanks, go ahead and go to the convention."

"OK," Himeko said with some disappointment in her voice. She knew that Nekoko didn't really want to deal with her because of Chikane, but she also knew that she can't give up on their friendship just because of that. She got herself ready and headed to the station.

When she got near to the station she saw Chikane there waiting for her.

"Ohayo, Chikane, how are you doing?" Himeko elated while hugging her friend.

"I'm fine thank you, how about you?"

"Great! Today is going to be a fun day!"

"I hope so, where are we going first? You still haven't told me," Chikane asked.

"Oh yeah, today there's a Battle Mikos convention going on. I'm really looking forward to it!"

When she heard that, a disturbed look showed on her face. All she could think of is the stereotypical notions that usually associated with anime/manga conventions, nerdy otaku men who still lived with their parents taking about some meaningless discussion about a hentai doujin of the mikos, debating how it's not hentai enough. Then the thoughts of them dressing up as mikos came into her mind. It was both disturbing and hilarious. She's pretty much against religion, so wearing something like would be an insult to her, yet seeing a ‘delinquent' like her in a miko robe could be quite funny. In short she, was not looking forward to it, but it was clear that Himeko was.

"Battle Mikos convention? What do they do there anyways?" Just to get an idea of what she will be dealing with.

"I don't know. I've never been to one, but I heard people meet there and talk about the manga and/or anime, sell some doujins, have some public speakers, and also hold a few contests. This one is really special since Kaishaku and the director Yanagisawa Tetsuya is going to be there to talk about the upcoming second season of the anime! "

"But what about money, I'm sure it's not free and we probably can't afford the tickets."

"That's not a problem, I already got them," she grinned as she pulled them out of her pocket. Chikane whimpered when she saw them.

"But what about our clothing, do you think they will allow in some homeless bums?"

"That's why we are going to a cosplay store, and pick up some clothing."

"Huh? A cosplay store?"

"Yeah, the one three blocks from here. We can dress like the mikos themselves."

"But wouldn't that cost some money?"

"Yeah, but it shouldn't be too expensive for some miko clothes."

"You don't know stores around here too well, do you? This is Shinjuku and nothing is cheap here girl."

"I'm sure it's not that expensive," she naively stated much to Chikane's chagrin. "So what are you waiting for, let's go!" Before Chikane spoke another word she pulled her arm and headed straight to the store.

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What was one day of happiness for two people was just another day of frustration for two others. Mika Andojuni and her husband, Pastor Kazu Andojuni were getting frustrated over Himeko's disappearance.

"We haven't found her yet. We've search throughout the city and we can't find her. She must have left Mahoroba." A private investigator said to her over the phone.

"I can't thank of anywhere else that she would be, she hardly ever been outside the city."

"Well I'll talk to the people of the National Center for Missing Children and see what they can come up with. It would probably be the usual protocol; they probably won't put much effort into it since they are knee-deep in other cases."

"Well, are there any other options?"

"I could talk to other organizations but that's the best I could do for the moment."

"OK, then detective Gaichou-san, remember we are paying you very good money to find our niece."

"Yes, I know and it's my top priority. When I get new information I will tell you, until then have a good day." Then he hung up.

"Any news honey?"

"No, nothing. He still hasn't found any info on Himeko. He thinks she left the city."

"I see." Kazu said.

"I can't believe that little bitch would take our money and run away like that! She's more like her mother than I thought, besides finding those filthy pictures," she gritted.

"Well when we get her back, I have her sent to Pastor Riyuchi. He was once gay but God cured him and maybe with God's help he can get Himeko cured."

"I hope so, I'm not going to have a rezu in my house, it's bad enough that her mother is one too. Did you ever see that picture of her girlfriend?"

"That one you burnt? Yes, I have and it's rather scary. She's a big time onabe! Those types of girls really defeat the purpose of being a lesbian. I mean, if you are going to go out with someone who tries to act and look like a man, then why not just go out with the real thing?"

"That makes no sense to me as well, honey," she agreed.

Kazu continued, "If Sirochi knew what she was like, he probably would have gotten rid of her long before his death."

"Yeah. Just the thought of her makes me mad. It's because of her that my onii-chan is in the grave and that we ended up being the guardian of a fuck-up!" Even to this day, she blames Himeko's mother for her brother's death. He died in a car accident while he was drunk. She considers her bad influences caused his death. Kazu did his best to comfort his wife and she calmed down a bit but not much.

"Look, she's no longer here to make our lives miserable."

"She's not, but she doesn't have to do that, her idiot daughter is doing her job. What makes it hard is that today's her birthday. We could have been preparing for her birthday party, and all our friends would be here celebrating with us, then I could show them my new dress I bought," she boasted. Besides Christmas, her birthday is the only other day that they are really nice to her. In reality, the reason for the birthday parties is not for her sake but for the couple to hobnob with their friends and to show off their elite status. What even happened to the Bible's and Jesus' teachings about humility?

Kazu didn't say anything to her but just comforted her. After a while she brought up an important question.

"Has the media been ignorant about this?"

"Yes dear," He said. The reason they didn't want the media to find out was that if the media did, then Himeko might speak about her abuse. Even though they know that Himeko is rather meek they still couldn't take that chance.

"Good, that's just the way I want it," she smiled as she placed her head on his chest.

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When they got to the cosplay store, they headed straight to the mikos section. They checked out all the miko clothing there and saw the prices on them. Himeko's jaw dropped.

"8,200 yen (100 USD) for a miko robe?" Himeko questioned in surprise.

"I told you," Chikane noted.

They have been looking through the robes for a while when the store owner interrupted them. He was disturbed that two ‘smelly bums' were in his store. He thought they were driving his customers away.

"Hey, are you two are going to buy or stare? If you're not going to buy then get out of here, you're driving the customers away,"

"How so?" Himeko innocently asked.

"Your two smell terrible. You bums are probably used to it but neither the customers nor am I. You're driving them away and this is a bad time especially with all the conventions going on today."

Chikane saw an opportunity out of this. She could use his willingness to get them out in their favor. The wheels in her head starts to turned as she spoke.

"Look, if you can reduce the price on those robes to 50% then we will gladly pay you and leave the store."

"Half-price! Are you crazy?" the owner shouted, he couldn't believe that Chikane had the guts to ask such a thing.

"Well then, let's continue our shopping then Hime-san?" Chikane said with a smile on her face.

"Okay!" Himeko smiled, playing along with Chikane's scheme.

The owner really didn't have much of a choice. He couldn't kick them out since he was nearly sued for a similar incident, so he budged in and said, "OK I'll take your deal, but you can only buy two and don't come back here ever again!"

Chikane smiled when she heard that and said, "That sounds good to me."

With his reluctant approval, Himeko went and picked out two robes for them. They looked the same ones the heroines wore in Battle Mikos.

"Are these are it?"

"Yep, just like in the manga itself. But Chikane-san, where are we going to clean ourselves and change?"

"That's not a problem Himeko-san, I got that covered," she said as she pulled out a card. It was a gym card to a local gym two blocks away from the store.

"Where did you get that?" Himeko asked, hoping the answer wasn't what she expected it to be.

"Remember the guy who wanted us to draw him and his dog a few day ago?"

"Yeah."

"Well I met him at the station two days ago and he liked the drawing you did with him and his dog, so he gave me one free month in his gym. He happens to be the manager of the gym over there."

Much to Himeko's relief, Chikane got the card in an honest way and she can tell that she wasn't lying.

"Wow, that's great!" Himeko said.

"It sure is, now just pay the guy and let's go, we don't have a lot of time I assumed."

Himeko nodded her head in approval and paid the guy as Chikane requested. Then they headed straight to the gym. Himeko had to sign in as a guest since Chikane had one card. When they got into the locker room, everybody started to complain about the smell. It had been days since either one of them took a shower.

While taking off their clothes, Himeko looked at Chikane and said softly, "Do we really smell that bad?"

Chikane just nodded her head ‘yes' then said, "Don't listen to them, just take your shower." They went to the shower room and took their showers. The warm water spraying on them felt refreshing.

After they got out of the showers they quickly changed to their miko robes. While they were leaving the gym, people bowed at them in respect, thinking that they were real mikos! Himeko and Chikane couldn't help but to laugh at the situation. "Heh heh, if they only knew." Himeko said and Chikane giggled in return.

While leaving the gym Chikane asked, "So where exactly is the convention held?"

"It's held at the Tokyo Big Sight Convention Center"

"Oh, at the island (Odaiba), okay then we need to take the Rinkai Line to get there."

"Is that far?"

"No, it should only take about 30 minutes since it's a direct trip."

"Oh, that's good, the convention doesn't start until 12:00 and it's 11:15 now."

"Yeah but you don't know when the next train leaves, so let's get there now."

"Okay," and the two girls didn't waste any time getting to the station. When they got to the Rinkai Line terminal, there were quite a few women dressed up as the heroic mikos. It was quite evident where they were going. There were also a few men who dressed up as mikos as well...

"Wow, look at all those people dressed up as mikos!" Himeko said.

"Yeah, even some of the men dressed up as mikos. And I just saw a woman dressed up as a male! It looks like this convention is going to be very interesting."

"Why? Cross dressing is not common for an anime or manga convention?"

"Only in yuri and yaoi-based ones, not the regular ones. Anyhow, the train has arrived so let's get ready."

"Oh, ok," and they went straight to the train. While at the train, everybody was staring at them and whispering to each other how they looked remarkably similar to the mikos in the manga, but the two girls didn't know that and it made Himeko feel very uncomfortable. She brought it up to Chikane, "Why is everybody looking at us? What could they be whispering about? Do we still smell bad?"

Chikane didn't know either but she said, "I don't think we still smell, we were in the showers for a good time. I do think it's because we do look like them."

"I hope so," she said quietly.

Now it was really clear to Chikane how shy she was, so she gave her some reassurance.

"Hime-san, don't let these people get to you. What they say really doesn't matter. They could be saying good things; they could also be saying bad things. In truth, it really doesn't matter because they don't see the full picture of us. They're not living our lives."

Chikane was right but Himeko still felt a little bit uneasy with all the staring and talking and it all goes back to how the other students used to look at her back at her old school and how they used to talk about her. Those terrible days still live inside of her.

They finally reached the convention center. The convention was held at the west end of the building and the place was rather packed, it was full of people dressed as either mikos or the villains in the manga. The convention was much more popular than what the two girls could have imagine. There were a good deal of geeky otaku fanboys but what surprised Himeko and especially Chikane was the number of women in the convention. Many of them dressed like the miko heroines and quite a few of them dressed like the villains, female or male! Chikane's gaydar was going off like crazy, she knew that at least half the women in there had to be gay! Himeko wasn't aware of it since she basically assumed that most of the women would be gay in a convention like this.

She was a bit intimated with all the people around. It didn't help that a lot of people were looking at them, more so than in the train. In her head she tried not to dwell about them, but the more she fought it, the more it intensified.

Chikane saw the fright on her face and wisely reassured her. She didn't know why they were looking at them but she wasn't going to let them get to her. "Don't worry about those people looking at us."

"I'm trying not to but it feels like its only getting worse..."

"Hime-san, don't try to fight it, just let it be. Ignore it and go on with your business, just because its there doesn't mean you have to follow it." That actually made Himeko felt a better.

During their time at the convention, they met quite a few people. At first, they didn't talk to anyone since Himeko was afraid to talk and Chikane wasn't the social type. But as a few fanboys came up to them and started to talk, Himeko became more comfortable and chat back. For Chikane, it took a bit longer but she eventually started to talk. They were fanboys and they acted geeky but they weren't as bad as she imagined they would be. But as she talked to a few of them she saw a bit of her in them. She watched Himeko's warm and friendly interaction with the people and saw how much they enjoyed talking to her, despite her initial shyness. It made her thought about her relations with people in general, "Maybe my attitude towards people prevented quite a few opportunities to occur in my life." Also in the convention, Himeko started to take pictures of the event with her new digital camera she bought with the money she earned from her drawings.

After an hour of socializing, the convention started with an introduction by the president of the Battle Mikos Fan Club, the main hostess of the convention. Following the introduction was a live performance of the anime's theme song, by CooRie. Himeko was enjoying the performance and was dancing with the music. The music was not Chikane's cup of tea, nevertheless she danced with Himeko.

Next was a discussion by some of the seiyuus from the anime, talking about their roles in the anime. It was informative but it just your run-of-the-mill type of discussion. Following that was a raffle contest for gifts. Himeko and Chikane entered in the raffle but they didn't win anything. The next event was another contest, a contest to see who resembled the characters from the anime/manga the most. First was the villains of the show, the judge had already pre-screened the contestants who signed up for the raffle. They called up the three people who they thought most resembled the characters. The contestants went up on the stage and they introduce themselves to the crowd. Then the crowd picked the one they thought looked like the character the most. First to come up were the ones who resembled the Orochi villains, then came some of the minor characters from the manga/anime. Finally they got to the mikos. Two people were called up first, then Himeko and Chikane were called up. It took Himeko by surprise.

"Hey Hime-san, let's get up to the stage right now."

"Huh, what? We're going up there." Himeko said with her typical timid fear.

"Yes, we are, so let's get up there," Chikane commanded. She didn't want to be up there just as much as Himeko but she felt that it will help out with Himeko's shyness.

"O-o-ok," she uneasily replied.

"Just remember what I said," Chikane reminded to her and she nodded in agreement. As they headed up to the stage, Himeko felt like she was in another world, felling very uncomfortable. However, she remembered Chikane's words about not fighting her inner thoughts and instead used it to her benefit.

"I feel very uncomfortable, but it's okay," she reassured herself as she was heading to the stage. When they finally got to the stage, Himeko couldn't help but focused on all those people staring at them, she started to sweat from the pressure she put on herself. Chikane saw her nervousness and squeezed her right hand to reassure her. It made her feel better and brought a small smile on her face. They were in the middle of the stage with two other couples between them. The ones on their left were actually a mixed-pair with a man dressed up as Kaon. He looked so much like her that nobody knew he was a man until he talked. The pair on the right looked like the mikos very much, but not as much as Himeko and Chikane did.

The hostess came up to the couple on their left and asked them their name and did a small interview with them, it was then they found out that he was a man. Then she came up to them.

"Here are mikos number 2," the crowd cheered. "What are your names?" She gave the microphone to Himeko but she quickly passed it to Chikane, which got a lot of chuckles from the crowd.

"My name is Himemiya Chikane and I'm from Mahoroba," she said without any signs of nervousness.

"And the one who is dressed up as Himiko, what is her name?"

Chikane handed the microphone to Himeko, she wasn't going to let her get out of this. She nervously took the microphone and answered "K-K-Kurusugawa Himeko, and I'm also from Mahoroba."

"All the way from Mahoroba? Wow, that is some dedication!" Both Himeko and Chikane's face flushed red as the audience cheered. "Aren't you two girls missing school back in Mahoroba?" she kidded.

Chikane knew by now that Himeko wasn't a good liar, so she quickly took the mike and said, "Yes, we are, but we are huge fangirls and we wouldn't miss it for the world, no matter how far away it is, school or no school." That got a lot of cheers from the crowd, since a lot of them were also their age. By then Himeko started to feel comfortable and took the microphone from her.

"I'm really glad to be here. To finally meet other people who really like the manga and anime as much as I do. Himiko and Kaon are the best mikos!" She too got cheers from her comment.

"Well, I think I can speak for everybody here that we totally agree with you, and we're certainly glad that you two are here, but maybe not your home room teacher," which got a few laughs from the crowd. She then moved on to the last couple and did the same type of interview with them. After she was done with them she addressed the crowd.

"Ok, now it's time to pick the couple who looked like the mikos the most. Now remember to cheer for your favorite. First up is Kazawara-san and Minagi-san from Chiba." That one got a few cheers. "Next up is Himemiya-san and Kurusugawa-san from Mahoroba." Much to their surprised, they got a huge ovation. It was already clear to the judges and to the host who won the contest but just for formality she went to the last couple. They got more cheers than the first couple but nowhere near what Himeko and Chikane got.

"And the winners by a landslide are Himemiya-san and Kurusugawa-san from Mahoroba!"

The crowd cheered excitedly at the winners. It was a new and wonderful feeling to them. For once Himeko felt like an actual winner and so did Chikane and their faces showed it fully with their radiant and genuine smiles.

"We won! We won!" Himeko ecstatically elated to Chikane.

"I know," she responded in a more subdue manner, though she was clearly ecstatic.

The hostess then handed them their gift winnings. "In part of winning the most important contest in the convention, you two win the grand prize of 20,000 yen (about 243 USD)." As she handed the check to Chikane, their grins got even bigger. They thank the hostess and went back to their seats. About a few minutes later when they got back to their seats, the pinnacle of the convention began.

"Now for the moment you've been waiting for. I present to you, Kaishaku!"

The whole entire hall erupted in cheers as the creators of Battle Mikos stepped on the stage. Himeko was no exception as she was screaming and cheering like a nutty fangirl. Chikane simply clapped but she was surely enjoying watching Himeko going bonkers. Her high-pitched screams got Chikane's ears ringing but she pretty much grin-and-bear it.

As the Kaishaku duo started to speak they talked about the manga and of the upcoming fifth volume. They show excerpts of the manga and the crowd was pleased at what they saw. Then the director of the Battle Mikos, Tetsuya Yanagisawa, joined them at the stage and the crowd went nuts again. He talked about the anime with some assistance from Kaishaku. After that they answered some questions from the audience. Finally, the time came for what most of the audiences anticipated.

"Now for the moment you all have been waiting for. It a preview of the upcoming second season of Battle Mikos!" Tetsuya elated. The huge flatscreen came from behind the curtains and the preview appeared. It was a mixture of exciting highlight clips from the anime complimented with some upbeat dance music. After 10 minutes, the preview ended and the audience roared in excitement, especially Himeko. She was screaming her head off and this time Chikane covered her ears. Based on the audience's reaction to the preview, the second season wasn't going to be disappointed.

The hostess returned and brought a conclusion to the convention. After it ended, Himeko and Chikane headed out of the hall. As they were walking, people took pictures of the two. This time they just smiled, enjoying the attention they were receiving. Just as they were about to leave the hall, the hostess stopped them by surprise.

"Kurusugawa-san and Himemiya-san, wait a minute!"

"Huh?" Himeko responded as she turned her head to face the host.

As she finally approached them she told them, "Wait, don't leave yet. There are some important people who want to meet you."

"Really?" Chikane questioned.

"Yeah, just follow me."

And they did as they were commanded, following her back to stage at the end of the hall. When they got there, they were in for a bigger surprise. Three men approached the two ladies.

"Wow! Kaishaku-sensei and Yanagisawa-sensei!" Himeko elated like a little kid.

"Hi there ladies, we were remarkably amazed of how much you two resembled Himiko and Kaon, so we knew we had to take a picture with you, that's if you don't mind."

Himeko couldn't believe what she heard, this was an absolute once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she wouldn't turn it down even if the world was about to explode. Chikane saw the sheer happiness in Himeko's face and knew if she didn't accept the offer, she was seriously disappoint Himeko, and that's the last thing she wanted to do.

"That's absolutely fine with me; it's like a dream come true! How about you Chikane-chan?"

"That's fine with me," she said as she was a bit surprised that she called her ‘Chikane-chan'.

As the man gathered behind Himeko and Chikane to pose, Himeko was on cloud nine with all smiles. Then the host took the picture and printed it out from the printer. She gave copies to everyone, but there was something that Himeko wanted to do with hers.

"Excuse me, Kaishaku-sensei and Yanagisawa-sensei, can I get a signature from you guys?" she asked rather boldly, nothing like her timid nature.

"Of course," Tetsuya said as he signed her picture, then Kaishaku did the same thing. When they offered Chikane to sign her picture she was about to decline, but then she thought what if that disappointed Himeko and what if Himeko lost hers, at least hers can be a backup. So she agreed to have it signed and they did accordingly. Himeko then asked to take the picture again but this time using her camera. She agreed and took another picture of them together. Now she got the memory of a lifetime in her SD card.

All in all, the convention was a satisfying moment to Chikane and a one-of-a-lifetime experience to Himeko. They finally left the hall and the convention center.

"Thanks for coming with me to the convention, even though it's not really you type of thing," Himeko said with her usual politeness.

"No problem, I enjoyed being there as a matter of fact," Chikane stated, but before she could say anything else a loud grumbling sound came from her stomach.

"Oh my, I'm really hungry."

"Me too."

"Are you in the mood for burgers, because I know a great burger place to eat?"

"Very much! You must have E.S.P. or something because that's exactly what was on my mind."

"Great! Then let's take a train to Shibuya, that's where it's located."

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They took the train to the Hiro-o Station in Shibuya district and went to the burger place Homework's. It's a traditional American hamburger restaurant, more or less, with that American homely and comfortable atmosphere and environment. It's also a fairly popular restaurant and although it's very much American influence it still has some Japanese touch to it, like Avocado Burgers.

When they got there, the hostess seated them and gave them the menus. About two or three minutes later a waitress came up to them and took their order, "Ohayo, my name is Kaeda-san and I will be your waitress for today, are you two ready to take your orders?"

"Yes, Kaeda-san, I would like to have one of your delicious avocado burgers with some fries and a Coke." Chikane ordered.

"OK, and what would you like to order miss?" she said looking at Himeko.

"Ano, I would like to have a Fried Egg Burger with some fries and a Root Beer."

The waitress and Chikane looked at Himeko with some disbelief. Himeko ordered something from the Kids menu. Putting an egg on a burger is what kids do in Japan. The waitress replied, "Are you sure you want the Fried Egg Burger?"

"Hai, absolutely!" she said with her sweet and innocent smile.

"Okay... Let me repeat the orders, one Avacado Burger with fries and a Coke," Chikane nod her head slightly to confirm her order. She then looked at Himeko and repeated her order while giving her that look, "And one Fried Egg Burger with fries and a Root Beer." Himeko nodded like a little kid to confirm her order, not ashamed of it whatsoever. "Okay, your order should be up in ten minutes," she said and she left their table.

When she was far away enough, Chikane looked at Himeko and said, "An egg on your burger? How old are you? Remember we're now sixteen."

"I like eggs on my burgers."

Chikane was surprised at how comfortable she was with it, because she's usually second and third-guessing herself. It was a rare moment of Himeko's self-expressing herself regardless of what other people thought.

They were quiet for a while, Chikane was thinking about something. Himeko saw the look on her face and said "Chikane-san, what are you thinking about."

Chikane looked up to meet her amethyst eyes and said "I was just thinking about when you called me ‘Chikane-chan' back at the convention."

Himeko just remembered doing it and she was in shock. Her eyes widened as the result of it. It was not intentional but you don't do something like that in Japanese culture unless you were really close with the person. She immediately apologized to Chikane about it.

"Gomen nasai, gomen nasai!" Himeko exclaimed in fright. Chikane had a small smile on face and then simply calmed her down by putting her hand on her shoulders.

"It's okay Himeko-san, there's no need to panic. I think we have reached a point in our friendship that we can start calling each other -chan. That's if you agree with me Himeko-chan."

Himeko smiled back and said "I have no problem with it, Chikane-chan."

"That's good, but there was more going in my mind," she said as Himeko focus her attention to what she was about to say. "The last person who ever called me -chan was Otoha. I wouldn't let anyone else call me that. Eventually, she just called me Chikane. But what I was really thinking about was that she's not here to see my sixteenth birthday. She would have been already 16 but it still kind of hurts not having her here for this day." She was beginning to shed a tear as she spoke. Himeko held her right hand to comfort her. Deep down inside, she wanted to make Chikane happy in any way she can. She didn't know why but she knew she wanted to.

"She may not be here now, but she was there for your past birthdays and you can always cherish those."

"Yeah, but they weren't much. The nuns over there didn't give us birthday celebrations besides giving us a slice of cake during lunch."

"But didn't you and Otoha-san celebrate it together in a special way?"

"Yeah."

"Then you can still cherish those moments, regardless of what others did. It doesn't make that time any less special," she said. Chikane let her words since in her head.

"Yes, you're right. I'll always keep those wonderful memories that we had together," she said with a small smile. After a while, their food finally came. When Himeko took a bite of her burger, she really loved the taste.

"Mmmm, this is really good, better than McDonalds!"

Chikane smiled and said, "It sure is! Anything's better than crappy McDonald's," She then took a bite of her French fries.

While they were still eating, Himeko brought up Nekoko.

"Ever since we started to hang out a lot, I haven't seen much of Nekoko," she said with a sad pout on her face. "She's still my friend and I don't want to lose our friendship."

Chikane would be more than happy to no longer deal with her but she knew Himeko felt otherwise so she told her, "Sometimes people have other issues and you have to live with that."

"So are you saying I should just give up trying to repair our friendship?" Himeko said with a stunned look on her face.

"No, nothing like that," Chikane quickly corrected herself. She didn't want Himeko to misinterpret what she said. "You should try with all your effort to repair your friendship. What I am trying to say is that if you did try everything and it still didn't work, then you should not beat yourself up because the outcome didn't come out the way you want it to be."

Himeko nodded and said, "Oh okay. Thanks for the suggestion."

"No problem." And they continued to talk about various things while eating their food. One of the topics was about arts and Chikane was amazed at Himeko's knowledge and passion for the subject as she talked passionately and extensively about it. She in returned talked about her passion for music and showed her extensive knowledge of the subject as well. As they were sharing their passions with each other, they were being engaged in each other's world, deeply connecting to each other in a way that went beyond the words they were sharing. They were oblivious to the outside world, enjoying their intimacy that they were not consciously aware of.

As they finished their food, both came to the conclusion in their minds that this was more than just and simple friendship. Himeko was hoping that it would be the start of something wonderful while Chikane was starting to worry if she was beginning to betray her love for Otoha. This was only the beginning however, for the night has yet to come.

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They went back to Shinjuku station and pretty much just window-shopped for most of the time, they still had some time to spare before they go to their next destination. When it was around 7:30 PM, they went to Mitsukoshi, a discount department store at the northern end of the building. Neither one of them had any eveningwear so they had to buy some clothes.

When they got there it was very busy since it was Friday evening. They went to the Young Women's department and looked around, looking for anything that would suit their fancy. Chikane saw a stylish blue blouse with some stylish black slacks to match. She also found a pair of black high-heels to match. Himeko took a bit longer, going through two dresses that didn't fit before she found something to her liking, a light blue top with a dark blue skirt and a light blazer to match the skirt. She found some light blue high-heels to go along with the outfit.

There was a small concern in Himeko. She knew what they bought was still expensive, even though they're in a discount store.

"I really like the clothes but can we really afford them?"

"Sure, Himeko-chan. I got it covered." Chikane replied as they were waiting in the checkout line. When they finally got to the cashier, Chikane discreetly pulled out enough cash to pay for the clothes. She didn't want her to know where she got the cash from, making her think that she got it from their work, when in reality she got it from the stolen jewelry she sold.

After they got back to Chikane's place in the station, they changed to their evening clothes in the restroom and hid their own clothes from being stolen. Finally, they went to their destination, Shinjuku Ni-chome.

San Francisco has the Castro District and New York has Greenwich Village, well Tokyo has Shinjuku-Ni-chome, the place to truly ‘be yourself' in Tokyo. This is basically a safe-haven for the non-straights in conservative Tokyo. The area truly caters to the gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transvestites with their bars, cafes, restaurants, gay-pride boutiques, etc.

In all this time she's been living in Shinjuku, Himeko has never set foot at Ni-chome, she didn't see any need to even though she's gay. She has heard about the place from her relatives and from the teachers in her school but only scary and negative things about it, that's what probably put her off going there. For Chikane, that is almost like her second home. Since it's only a few blocks from the station she goes there every now and then, but she doesn't really hit up the areas that require formal ware.

The area is as stereotypically vibrant as one would expect for a gay area, with glittering neon signs displaying its vibrant colors and gay rainbow flags popping up quite often. But it's during the night that the area really shines. The area is probably the liveliest place in all of Tokyo at that time, with its 200-plus nightclubs filling the area, jamming nonstop through the night. They have all types of bars and clubs caters to anybody's type of fancy. Not all the bars and clubs there are gay-themed.

The nightclub Chikane wanted to go to was Yuri Kin, meaning ‘Lily Gold', a classy girls-only bar and nightclub. She heard about this place quite often so she wanted to check it out. This place is so restrictive to women that even the bouncers are females, some of them were bodybuilders.

"Hey, aren't you two a bit too young to be here?" said the female bouncer.

Chikane discreetly pulled out 5,000 yen ($60 USD) and handed it to the bouncer. Himeko knew what she was doing but she let this one slid, knowing better than to interfere what could be a fun time.

"Accept this as a gift." Chikane said with a sly smile.

The bounder smiled in return and took the cash but she warned her, "Don't cause any trouble or you will have to face me."

Chikane nodded and they entered right in. As they entered in, they check out the place. It was a clean yet dimly lit bar with a huge golden chandeliers hanging about the dance floor. The nightclub's décor was black and gold, with chairs and tables elegantly designed in that theme. Even the bar table had a pristine look. The dim lights give it a secretive yet elegantly charming atmosphere. It was certainly an area for the well-to-do female who was a lesbian, bisexual, or just plain curious.

Himeko was in awe of the area, "Wow, this place looks nice," Himeko said.

"It sure does. I can't believe we actually got in with our cheap clothing."

"Yeah, I'm surprised as well."

"Let's head to the bar."

Himeko got nervous when she heard that. "B-but I don't drink."

"You don't have to get alcohol to drink, I'm not. I just need some water."

"Oh ok," she said and she followed Chikane to the bar.

As they got to the bar Himeko got the bartender's attention.

"Excuse me but where's the restroom?"

"Down there," as she pointed to the door at the other end of the club. Himeko thank her and went straight to there. While Himeko stepped out, a beautiful chestnut brown-haired woman came up to Chikane.

"Ara, are you available for a dance?"

Chikane didn't think it would hurt for a simple dance said, "I guess so," as she shrugged.

"Perfect," as she lead Chikane to the dance floor. When they got to the dance floor, some smooth jazz music was playing so it was perfect for a slow dance and for the woman to get to know Chikane better.

"So where are you from?"

"Mahoroba."

"Ah yes, Mahoroba. I've been there before for my skiing trips."

"Really, that must have been interesting."

"Yeah, Mt. Okisawa." Chikane eyes nearly jumped when she heard Mt. Okisawa. It's a skiing resort that caters only to the extremely wealthy. She realized that the type of girl she was dealing with, a very wealthy one. "Have you ever been there?" she asked.

"No, I can't say I have, in fact I don't know how to ski."

"Ah too bad, you don't know what you're missing."

Chikane then asked, "And judging from your accent, you must be from Osaka?"

The lady giggled in amusement and said "No, but you're close. I'm from Kyoto."

"Oh really, I've never been there."

"Poor girl, you don't go out too much?"

"No, not really," she said. She then asked, "Why did you want to dance with me when there are other women out there available."

"Ara, what can I say, I like beautiful bluenettes," she said. She had a good poker face but her crimson red eyes still gave away her true intentions. When Himeko came back she was looking for her but she couldn't find her at the bar, so she went to the dance floor. It was only half way to the dance floor that she spotted her with the other girl. She just stood there stunned at what she was seeing. Something deep inside of her was making her depressed when she saw the other girl making her move on Chikane. She didn't do anything until the girl slid her hands down to Chikane's posterior, much to Chikane's surprise. She was about to slap the girl for her actions when Himeko immediately left the club. Chikane saw that and she abruptly broke off from her and followed Himeko. The girl was surprised that Chikane would do such a thing until she saw her following Himeko, then she realized what was going on. Himeko found a place to sit and then started to cry. She knew very well that Chikane wasn't her girlfriend yet it was painful to see Chikane being interested to someone else. Chikane found her and then sat right next to her.

"Why did you just walk out of there? And why are you crying?"

"What does it matter to you?"

"It matter a lot to me Himeko-chan, you are my close friend."

"But not close enough to be holding you like the way she was."

"Look, I was surprised that she would do that to me, I was about to slap her but you took off. There's nothing going on between me and her, I don't even know that girl. Please believe me, Hime-chan," she said with all the honestly that she can muster up. Himeko looked at those royal blue eyes and saw how sincerely honest she was. Chikane continued on, "In fact, I like for you to come back and dance with me instead." She looked deeply into Himeko's eyes and said softly, "Please?"

Chikane got up from where she was sitting and then offered her hand to Himeko. She hesitated at first but eventually she her hands and they walked back to the club. When they got to the dancefloor, it was some upbeat jazzy music and they started to dance immediately. Himeko, being as uncoordinated as she was, fell a few times but all she did was got back up and continued dancing. Some people laughed at her but she didn't care, she wasn't going to let them ruin her fun time with Chikane. Chikane told her a dance move she could use that would suit her, even for someone who was as clumsy as she was. She tried it and she didn't fall for the rest of the night. It was mostly upbeat stuff for the next hour, and then they started playing the slow jazz music again. Chikane and Himeko were dancing to it and Himeko had her arms wrapping around Chikane's body. Chikane had her arms around Himeko's as they were slow dancing throughout the song. Both were enjoying their slow dance together. Eventually, Himeko laid her head on Chikane's shoulders unconsciously. She couldn't see it but it make Chikane's face blush red. This went on for about thirty minutes before the upbeat music played again.

They were dancing nonstop for two hours before they got tired and decided to go back home. Chikane walked back with Himeko to her tent at the park. When they got there they had some small chit chat.

"Thanks a lot Chikane-chan, this is the best birthday I've ever had!"

"I'm glad you're enjoyed it. It's the best birthday I've even had myself."

"I'm also glad to have the birthday with you, Chikane-chan."

"So am I Hime-chan," After that there was an intimate moment of pause those two had. They just stared at each other affectionately. No words were needed as the attraction was clear between the two. Chikane moved in for the kiss, putting her love for Otoha as far back in her mind as she could. Himeko responded back by slowly moving her head towards Chikane. However, as they were about to kiss a loud noise blasted in the air.

"Nyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

That scream could not have come at a worst time. Nekoko's seizure shattered that intimate moment those two had. Himeko quickly ran to Nekoko's tent and saw her convoluting like crazy. This one didn't look like one of her typical seizures, it looked even worse. She was banging her head on the ground trying to stop the excruciating pain. All the cats where screaming and running away. Chikane followed behind and was surprised at what she was seeing.

"What's going on?"

"She's having one of her seizures and it looks like a terrible one."

"Well, is there anything I can do to help."

"Yes! Get me that syringe over there," as she pointed to the medicine-filled syringe at the table.

"No, don't get me that, nyyyaaahhhh!" Nekoko screamed in maddening pain. Even in life-threatening pain she didn't want a syringe stuck to her. Chikane rushed to get the syringe and handed it to Himeko. At that point, Nekoko's body was violently convoluting and she had no control over it.

"Chikane-chan, grab her while I try to inject the medicine."

"What! Are you crazy? I could be seriously hurt."

"Please, Chikane-chan!" Himeko pleaded. Chikane reluctantly agreed and held on to Nekoko as tightly as she could, holding both her body and her arms. Himeko proceed to stick the needle into one of the veins in her arm and injected the medication. Her seizures gradually subsided and about a few minutes later they went away.

When Nekoko was normal again, she thanked Himeko, "Thanks for helping me. That was a terrible one."

"You're welcome. You should also thank Chikane-chan as well," she said as Chikane was standing next to her, wearing a grin.

When she heard Chikane-chan, she was about to lose her top and said, "Chikane-chan? What!?! You're now close friends with her!?! What are you thinking!?!"

Chikane used this opportunity to one-up her, "Now, now Neko-san, I would calm down if I were you, you might get those seizures again," Chikane advised, yet it was clear in her voice that she was belittling her.

"She's right, Neko-chan," Himeko stated, trying to play down Chikane's mocking.

Nekoko knew they were right and so she quickly calmed herself down. She saw the way they dressed and was starting to wonder if there was more than just friendship between the two.

"You two look nice, where did you go after the convention?"

"We went to Homework's then we went to Yuri Kin at Ni-chome," Himeko said.
That gave off warning bells in Nekoko, thinking they were becoming a couple. She didn't know anything about Yuri Kin but she knows what Ni-chome is all about. Then she remembered that both of them were gay so they probably just hanged out in a gay-friendly area.

"Well, at least you had a fun time. Anyhow, I got to go back to sleep, good night."

She went straight to her sleeping bag and went back to sleep, still in a somewhat bitter mood. Himeko and Chikane left her tent. While they were outside Chikane said, "Look I got to head back to the Station. I'll see you later, okay."

"Okay." Then Himeko gave her a hug, she didn't want to let go but finally, Chikane gently pushed her off and walked to the station. Himeko was wearing a smile while watching her leave, knowing full well that things will never be the same between her and Chikane, and that was a good thing.

*****

Inside the temple was even worse, the place was literally wrecked. The temple's properties were thrown all over the floor. But the worst was when he saw a beaten Yukihiro. He was beaten up pretty badly. He had a cut on his mouth, bruise marks on his head, and some bandages around his stomach provided by Souma and Makoto.

"What happened to you?!?"

"The black-masked gang came her last night and wrecked the place. I tried to stop them but instead they beat me up."

"Oh my, have you gone to the hospital?"

"No, but I'm fine," he said weakly.

"No, you need to go. You might be internally bleeding, where's Soumo-chan?"

"He's at the back, probably cleaning up."

"Ok, arigato," he said and he went directly to the back of the temple. Over there he saw an angry and irked Souma with an equally steamed Makoto sitting there. Kazuki had to snap them out of it, knowing very well that their loathing won't do them any good.

"Souma-kun and Makoto-chan, sitting there isn't going to help matters."

"No, but smashing the black-mask gang skulls would. I can't believe they would do something like this just because we are helping the homeless! Can't those bastards see that we are trying to improve the community?"

"Well I don't think it's a wise thing to go looking for them, they might kill you Souma-kun. And also, we are trying to improve the community indeed, but they don't see it that way, and the sad part is that most of Japan general population agrees with them. However, we are not going to let that stop us. In fact, I'm planning to do something big."

Yukihito just walked in when he heard Kazuki talking and said, "What's that?"

"Oh Yuki-san, I'm glad you're here. What I'm planning to do is to have something like a big exhibition demonstrating that the homeless are not useless in our societies, and to bring awareness to their problems as well."

"What do you mean?" Makoto inserted.

"I mean there are a lot of talented people who happens to be homeless, for example, Nekoko-san and her circus cats. If I can show the people of Tokyo what they are capable of, then at least we would be able to change their views of them."

"But that's ridiculous, nobody would want to go to some exhibit to learn about people whom they considered to be failures, owww!" Yukihito responded weakly followed by a loud moan. He was not is great shape.

Kazuki took great offense to his comments and replied "They're not failures! They're human beings who got the short end of the stick. Its comments and ignorance like yours that makes their situation even harder. The truth is that people are not aware of their homeless' problems. Anyway, you don't look so good, you need to go to the hospital. Souma-kun, take him to the hospital."

"But onii-chan, my motorcycle wouldn't be a good thing for him to ride on."

"I know that, so here are my car keys," he said as he threw them to Souma and he caught them. "Use my car to take him there. Me and Mako-san will clean up the place."

"Okay onii-chan," he said and he dutifully took Yukihito to the hospital.

After they left Kazuki looked at Makoto and said, "Come on Mako-san, let's start cleaning up, people will be coming in a few hours," and she followed his command.

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For Himeko and Chikane, not much has progressed between the two since that night. In fact it seems that Chikane was somewhat distancing herself from her. She comes for the training and for their work, but they don't interact as much as they used to, nor does Chikane visit her at the tent anymore. Could it be that Chikane is still hung up on Otoha? Or is it that Himeko is still friends with Nekoko? Either way, it was making her sad. The good thing though is that she's been hanging out with Nekoko more often. Their friendship was not what it used to be but it was better than it was on her birthday. Nekoko was either oblivious to her sadness or that she didn't want to bring it up, for she never talked about it. But for Himeko that was all the better, she really didn't feel like discussing it. She didn't think Nekoko would fully understand, or she thought that she would use it to drive a wider wedge between her and Chikane. She felt a bit of frustration in the predicament she was in. She didn't know what do, she prayed, wished, and hoped but they didn't seem to work. Nevetheless, she knew she had to take her mind off it, but what else could she do. As she was looking at her artwork, she saw her drawing of her art teacher, Kuu-sensei. She then remembered that she was going to send her an email. She thought it couldn't be a better time, so she left her tent and went to an Internet café.

The café is nothing special. It's just a somewhat cramped place with a few computes. Himeko paid the worker for an hour of usage and then sat at one of the empty computers. She remembered the security advices Chikane gave her so that no one could trace her email, thus she went to an anonymous email site. Finally she began typing the email to her art teacher:

Dear Kuu-sensei, it's me, Kurusugawa Himeko. How are you doing? I am doing fine myself, in fact better than when I was at Mahoroba. I just want to let you know that I am okay and well. I am now living in another city since this summer. Over here I made new friends and had much more fun than I ever did at Mahoroba.

I also met someone special as well, her last name is Himemiya, can't tell you her first name. I really like her a lot but I don't know if she feels the same way about me. I though she did when we celebrated our birthday but lately she's been rather cold to me. I wish I could talk to you right now, because you probably know what to do about it. And yes, I'm gay, but I knew that before I came here, all because of a yuri manga magazine I saw a some teacher's desk :)

There's something else I want to tell you. The reason why I ran away is because I want to get away from my relatives. They locked me up in the house and have abused me verbally and physically. They've done many terrible things to me. I can't tell you exactly what they've done to me because they bring painful memories and make me cry. I also want to get away from my schoolmates who used to pick on me and tease me for being weird, wimpy, stupid, etc. Because of them, I never thought positive of myself, but that's started to change. I am not weird, nor am I wimpy or stupid, and I don't want to come back to Mahoroba ever again!

However, I will never forget you sensei. I'll never forget you kindness and your sweetness, and for always being there for me, no matter what the situation was. And I thank you for it very much, for you were one the few bright moments in my life at Mahoroba.

In all, I just want to tell you that I'm okay. Hopefully we will see each other again, but if we don't I just want to tell you thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Sincerely,
Kurusugawa Himeko.

Whe she was done, she double checked her email and hit the submit button, hoping that the mail went through. She went back to her tent and spent some with Nekoko and played with the cats.

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The next day she met Chikane and headed to the gym to do their usual training, and then they went and set up their place outside the station to do their work. Chikane was playing her music on her keyboard. Her hand has healed and she was using her favorite instrument, the piano/keyboard. She found a full-sized one at the dumpster.

Himeko really wanted to ask what was going on inside of her. Why was she turning cold on her all of a sudden after they were about to get very close. It was just that she was afraid that she might lose her. That was the last thing she wanted to happen. While they were doing their usual, Makoto and Souma saw them.

"Hey Hime-san and Chika-san, how are you doing?" she said with her typical perkiness.

"Oh we're fine, how are you two doing?" Himeko asked.

"Not fine at all. Our temple has been desecrated."

"Oh my! That's too bad," Himeko replied.

"Yes, and it's all because we're trying to make a difference in the community by helping out the homeless," Souma angrily noted.

When Chikane heard that, she knew exactly who was behind it.

"Let me guess, the black-masked group?"

"Yes, absolutely. Because of what just happened, onii-chan wants to hold an exhibit for the homeless people, hoping that it might change the public's perception of them. He wants us to look for homeless people in this area who has any sort of displayable talent to join us for that day."

Himeko and Chikane just looked at each other and then Chikane said, "So you want us to be a part of this exhibit?"

Souma and Makoto nodded their heads to a yes.

"Well I don't know, are we going to get paid for this?"

"Unfortunately no, we have the place insured but it doesn't cover everything, and a good deal of our money is making the exhibition happen, so we don't have any to give. We will provide a free meal, courtesy of local restaurants, if you do participate," Makoto noted.

Chikane was mulling over it for a bit, favoring on the side of ‘no', but Himeko thought otherwise.

"I would like to participate. I have many drawings and photos that I would like to share to everyone." Chikane was about to object but Himeko continued, "Chikane-chan, this is a perfect opportunity to showcase your music skills, especially on the piano."

"Aren't I doing that already here outside?"

"But it's not the same. People aren't really that interested, they too busy trying to get somewhere, but at least you have a chance for everyone to fully listen to your music," Himeko elated. Chikane wanted to say no but she did see Himeko's point. It was an opportunity for people to see another side of Chikane, not the cold, bitchy, and calculating side everyone is familiar with. But what bothered her was that she will be near Himeko for a long time, she didn't want that for a reason only known to Chikane herself. She had strong feelings for Himeko but she felt best if it was not acted upon. Nevertheless, Chikane agreed to participate in the exhibition.

"Okay, I'll join," Chikane said with her usual dead seriousness.

"I'm glad to hear that!" Makoto replied with her usual perkiness.

"That's great! The exhibition will start in noon at the Sumitomo Fudosan warehouse near the Koma theatre two weeks from today. Hope to see you girls there!" Souma said and they left the area.

As they left, Himeko elated, "Wow, a lot more people get to see my artwork!"

"I'm glad to see you being excited about it. I remember when you were afraid to show them to people, thinking that they won't like it," Chikane remembered like it was yesterday. So did Himeko but she realize the change in her from what she was over a month ago.

"Yeah I do remember, but I can't wait to show them my work!" she elated happily.

"After we're done here, let's go visit the sensei and see what he really wants. I don't think it's that open-ended, but who knows?"

"That sounds like a good idea, Chikane-chan," she said and they went back to their jobs. When the evening sky was giving way to the night, Himeko and Chikane wrapped up their stuff and they went to the temple. While they were looking for him, they saw some of the remaining damages caused by the masked group.

"This was such a beautiful place, why would they do such a thing?" Himeko asked such a thing.

"Because they are intolerant idiots," Chikane said bluntly.

As soon as they spotted them they went up to him immediately bowed to him in respect. After that Chikane spoke first.

"You must be Oogami-sensei?"

"Yes I am, and you must be the blue-haired girl who plays the music outside the station."

"Yes I am, my name is Himemiya Chikane, and this is my partner, Kurusugawa Himeko."

"How are you doing Kurusugawa-san?" he said followed by a respectful bow.

"Fine thank you sensei," she replied and bowed back respectfully.

"Don't be surprise that I know who you are, my brother Souma-kun told me about you two and I've seen you two many times outside. How can I help you ladies?"

"We just want to know more about the exhibition that you are having two weeks from now," Chikane said formally.

"Ah yes, the exhibition. Well I'm trying to show everybody around here that the homeless are not worthless. I want to use this exhibition not only to bring awareness to the homeless situation, but to show that homeless people can be valuable to our economy and to our society. Who knows, maybe some of them might get jobs out of this."

"I see," Chikane replied. "But how can we contribute to your exhibit? Do you really think our skills are suitable for your exhibit?"

"Absolutely. Chikane-sama, with your musical skills, especially on piano, you can bring a wonderful atmosphere to our exhibit. And Himeko-sama, your artistic skills are simply amazing for someone your age, from what I've seen. Do you have any that reflects homeless life?"

"I sure do. I shot many photos of the homeless and did a few drawings on them."

"That's good to hear. You can bring your other drawings as well. I would like to use your drawings and photos to show what its like to be homeless, is that okay with you?"

"No problem whatsoever," she said with a smile and Kazuki returned back his own small smile. While Kazuki was talking to the ladies, Souma and Yukihito were watching them from a distance in interest, in particular Yukihito.

"Check out those two homeless chicks, they're hot even with those dirty clothes!"

"Them? Oh, those are the ones who do the drawings and the painting outside the station. The blond one did that drawing of me and Mako-chan."

"Oh yeah, I do see them when I walk by the station, but they're still some hot chicks."

"Yeah they are, especially the blond one," Souma said as he looked at Himeko.

"Oh so you got eyes on the blond one, huh? Man, if Mako-chan found out, she'll beat you with a baseball bat!"

"Man, will you stop it! You know I only got eyes for Mako-chan, no one else."

"Of course you do, cuz you're whipped!" Yukihito jested.

"No I'm not! I'm just very loyal and faithful to her, she knows that I'm in charge of the relationship," Souma cockily defended.

"Sure... Every time she asked you to do something, you do it. When we go out, you always tell her where we are going and you never stay late with us. Hell, with the fact that she hardly wears skirts and dresses and that she cuts her hair short, I'm wondering if she is ‘the man' in the relationship." Yukihito joked at Souma's expense. Souma was slowly getting angry at him questioning his manhood even though he was doing it in a kidding matter. Nevertheless, Yukihito continued, "Like I said, you're whipped," he joked once again and the discussion concluded with him making a whip sound effect.

"Oh shut up Yuki-san," he said followed by a poke to his still-bandaged rips. Now it was Souma who was laughing at his best friend's expense.

"OWW, Don't do that! You know it still hurts!"

"I know," Souma devilishly smiled. "And if I were you, I would be very careful what comes out of my mouth," he said and he poked him again. Another smile radiated from his face and Yukihito yelled a bit louder. Unfortunately, it got Kazuki's attention.

"What's going on with you two?" Kazuki promptly asked with his no-nonsense attitude as he approached them.

"Souma-san is being retarded sensei."

"Not as much as you are, Yuki-san."

"Stop acting like ten year olds, we got company here and you should know how to behave when we have people here. Anyhow, Souma-kun you know these girls already but I assumed that Yuki-san doesn't. This is Himemiya Chikane and Kurusugawa Himeko."

"No I can't say that I've met them before but I can honestly say it's nice meeting you two. My name is Tachibana Yukihito," he said with a polite bow to the two girls. "Allow me to show you around the area, event though we're still under repair."

"I think not. Yukihito-san, go help out with Souma-kun in cleaning this place up, I'll show the girls around," he said sternly and he returned his attention back to the girls. When he and the girls walked away, Yukihito voiced his displeasure to his best friend.

"I can't believe your brother, he is such a cockblocker."

"Dude, don't worry about it. You will see them again. I seriously doubt that they will find someone new within two weeks."

"Man, you never know," he said. Souma inadvertently changed the subject.

"By the way, can I come to your house this weekend? I want to play you in some Tennis on your Playstation 2."

Yukihito got nervous and said, "Ano, this weekend won't be good."

"Why not? I haven't been there in almost two months."

"Because me and my family are cleaning up this weekend," he said.

"But I thought you did that last week?"

"Well, we got more stuff to clean up," he answered nervously. Souma knew he was hiding something, but he decided it was best not to bring it up, so he just said okay and they move on to something else.

After the meeting with Kazuki, Himeko and Chikane headed back to their own places. Chikane started to think what songs she will play while Himeko gathered most of the photos and drawings she had relevant to the exhibit, plus a few other drawings.

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About a half hour after arriving, Himeko told Nekoko and the visiting Natashi about the planned exhibit. Natashi liked it but Nekoko had mixed feelings about it.

"I seriously doubt it will work. I know Oogami-sensei has good intentions but I really don't know if it will work at all."

However Natashi disagreed, "I think it will work. I think it will show some attention as to who we are and what we are all about. It's also a perfect opportunity to show a group that makes up a significant portion of the homeless."

"Who's that?" Himeko asked?

"The Burakumin."

Himeko eyes widen when she heard that, so she asked, "Are you a burukumin?"

"Yes I am. Many of us are homeless simply because of job discrimination. It's not as bad here as it is out west in areas like Osaka, Kyoto, and Hiroshima, but it still occurs as I found out the hard way."

"What happened?" Himeko said with sincere concern.

"I was an IT manager for the Tokigawa Health Insurance, located at the Akasaka district in Chiyoda. I was very successful at my job, making 984,000 yen (120,000 USD) a year and was groomed to be the next Chief Information Officer. Unfortunately, due to company's several bad investments and that everlasting recession, they were facing bankruptcy. Then the Osaka-based Fujimoto Insurance bought them out. When they bought out my company, they laid off hundreds of workers. I ended up being one of them, but I shouldn't have been, they were only firing the regular workers and a few lower-level managers. Most of the upper-level managers were kept, except me. I knew something was suspicious so I hired a private detective to investigate the company. He found out that they discovered that I grew up in a burakumin area near Osaka. I thought I hid it from them but later on I found out that they had a book telling them all the burakumin's settlements. Basically, they used the downsizing opportunity to get rid of me.

I was fine for a while but my finances started to dwindle when I couldn't find anybody willing to hire me. They basically had me blackballed from the industry. Plus my wife divorced me and won some of my money, so that did some damage as well. Before long, I was kicked out of my apartment, had my car taken away from me and I ended up being homeless. So I do want to bring up what they considered a taboo subject, because making it taboo makes it hard to bring awareness to the discrimination."

Himeko was amazed at his story and how much he went through. Nekoko got inspired by his story, even though she heard it a few times.

"I never saw it like that, maybe I can raise awareness for animal abuse while still entertaining the crowd."

"Yeah, and who knows, maybe someone can help you achieve your goal of owning your own animal shelter," Himeko happily noted.

"You might be right Himeko, there could be a lot out of this. Let me do some thinking and planning for the exhibit," Nekoko said while being lit up.

"And when I get back to my place, I will go ahead and plan my exhibit on the Burakumins and homelessness," he said.

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The day has come for the exhibit. There were quite a few homeless people in the warehouse. They were getting ready for what they wanted to present. Himeko got her paintings, drawings and and photos set up. Chikane was sitting at a grand piano that Kazuki rented. Nekoko had all her performing cats there and she was setting up the equipment. Natashi, with some help from Himeko, had a small display showing info on the burakumin. There were also other homeless people participating in the event. What was surprising was that a lot of people came to see the exhibit and they varied from businessmen and upper-class people to regular workers and even some of the homeless who were not participating.

Girochi was there to supervise the building. He was standing right next to Kazuki and was rather surprised at all the people attending.

"Wow sensei, I'm really impressed. I didn't think you would get all these people here in such a short time."

"Well, I got to thank Makoto's marketing skills on that one. She really pushed this event on her blog and on her MySpace page. It's just too bad that your sister couldn't come."

"Yeah, she had to work at the monastery today. She really wanted to come."

"Yeah, I know she would have," he said with some disappointment in his voice.

While sitting on the grand piano's stool, Chikane was wearing a grumpy face. Himeko, who was right beside her, was very concerned about it so she brought it up.

"Why are you so mad? Today's the day you get to show how good you are on the piano."

Chikane looked at Himeko first and then she looked at her object of hatred and said, "Because she is here."

Himeko turned around to take a look and saw Corona walking towards Chikane. Corona got the news about the exhibit, and being the big-time attention hog that she was, she jumped at the opportunity to showcase her singing talent. The few times Himeo met her, she always put Himeko down, this time was no different.

"Well hello there old friend, I haven't seen you much since you started to hang out with this little girl here?" she said while looking at Himeko with irrelevant apathy.

Chikane looked at her with spite and said, "She's not a little girl, she's more of a woman than you'll ever be and I would like for you to show her some respect."

Corona just blew her off, saying, "Whatever. Oogami-sensei said he would like for us to perform a few songs together. Do you remember the songs we used to do together in the station?"

"Yes I do very well," she said, clearly showing her annoyance to Corona.

"Well that's good, you do have some value after all," she said. Chikane's anger was quietly rising inside of her. "Anyways, since this is supposed to be a classy environment, let's go ahead and do Moon River, do you remember that one?"

"Of course I do, I told you about that song," she said with a matter-of-fact tone. Himeko saw the anger building up insider of her, so she did her best of trying to bring it down to a simmer.

"Moon River, that's a beautiful song, I would love to hear you play it."

That brought a temporary smile on her face but she became serious again when she said, "Okay, but I'm only doing this for you."

Himeko smiled after that and then Chikane started to play. Corona sang the song and most of the people in the warehouse took notice. She performed the song well, event though there were some parts where she overdid it due to her showing off nature, much to Chikane's chagrin. Nonetheless, the crowd applauded for their performance, include Himeko. Amongst the crowd were Souma and Yukihito.

"Oh my, she actually uses her throat for something else!" Yukihito said.

Souma couldn't help but laugh, "What do you mean?" Souma naïve questioned.

"When me and my friends were walking through the red-light district, we saw here there selling her pussy."

Souma was shocked to hear that, he never knew about this. "Who went with you?"

Yukihito hesitated for a while, trying to come up with an answer, "Oh some new friends you haven't met. Look, I got to help out sensei in a few things," and he promptly left. Souma was beginning to sense something wasn't right.

After their Moon River performance, Chikane and Corona performed two more songs, but with the way Corona sang them, they lasted as long as four songs! In particular, this one song that happened to be a little over four minutes, but somehow she managed to stretch it beyond eight minutes!

"Did you ever know that you're my heeeeroooooooo? You're everything that IiiIIIiii wanted to beeeeeeeee. Did you ever know that you're my heeeero-O-o-o-O-o-o? Cause you are the wings... beneath... my... wings."

Corona kept on extending the words and adding unnecessarily pauses to the song. Chikane was doing her best to hold her anger and to keep up with her. Her cold exterior hid the frustration that Corona was inadvertently causing. Apparently, Chikane wasn't the only one who wasn't impress with Corona's singing. Hana was in the crowds watching her sing, and he had enough of her as well. So after she finished the song, he came up to the platform and too the microphone from her.

"Corona, do you know how to sing a song properly!"

"What the hell do you mean?" she barked back to him.

"I mean just that. You're fucking up on the hooks and you're overextending on the words. You're not singing like how a real diva should." he said as he went up to the stage. Without a care for Corona's or anybody else's consideration, he rudely push her, "Girl, step back and takes some note while I'm up here. Watch how a true diva sings."

Chikane was finally relieve from Corona's singing, thinking things will be better under Hana, that was until he started to sing.

"Hey, hey, I will sur-sur-survive..."

Chikane lightly shook her head in despair while playing that worn out disco song. She knew it was going to be a long day...

Meanwhile, quite a people were looking at Himeko's artwork and photos. They were amazed that such a young girl could produce such artistic masterpieces. Most of them were about the lives of the homeless, good and bad. She wanted to show all aspects of their lives so that people can see that they are no different from them. She wanted her paintings to build a ‘relation' with the guests, to get them into their own world. She did have other artwork not relating to any homeless theme, and there was one that caught many people's attention, including Chikane, who somehow managed to find time to take a break. It was a painting of her and Himeko together holding hands together with their backs facing. Chikane's side was dark with the moon shining at the top while Himeko's side was bright with the sun shining. The painting had a profound impact on her that she didn't want. She had to know a little bit more about the painting.

"What is this painting called?"

"I called it Memories. It's basically us looking back at our lives together through our perception."

"Together?" Chikane questioned.

"Yes, together," Himeko said with some sadness in her voice. She was trying to make it clear to her how she was currently feeling about their relationship. Chikane shed a tear and told her, "I don't think it's a good idea." Then she immediately went back to the piano and waited for Corona to continue singing. Himeko wanted to talk to her about it but she was interrupted by a man who wanted to know more about her paintings.

There was also another picture that brought a lot of interest, but one of mixed feelings and controversy. It was a painting of Himeko showing a young homeless man sitting in the cold with a message below saying, "There are over ten thousand teens that are homeless simply because their parents did not approve their sexuality."

One woman saw the painting and came up to Himeko, "That painting of yours sends a false sympathy message, just like that dirty eta over there. Why should we be sympathetic to those queers? Well that's what they get for being gay, they should be on the streets."

Himeko got angry at the woman's comments and showed a rare side of her anger.

"We don't belong on the streets. We are human beings and we don't deserve to be treated like wild animals, nor do the burakumins. Loving someone of the same sex is not a crime, so it shouldn't be treated as such!"

"So you are one of them?" she sneered with a disgusted look on her face. Himeko didn't let that faze her when she responded.

"Yes I am and I don't see anything wrong with that!"

Kazuki heard the bickering between the two, so he came over there and intervened.

"Why are you having problems with her painting?"

"Because she is trying to use her painting for us to sympathize for their sickness, and so is that filthy Eta with his display!"

"Their sickness? What's wrong with them? How is homosexuality a sickness? It has been proven by well qualified psychologist that it's not a sickness. And even if it is a sickness, that still doesn't give a parent the right to kick their children out. Parents should care for their children, no matter what. Also what makes an Eta filthy? Because they were force to do work that is considered disgusting to everyone else. That doesn't make them filthy."

"Both of them are filthy, they bring shame to our great society," she idiotically boasted.

"They're not bringing shame to our society. They're not doing anything to harm or bring down our society. Just like the homeless, they are wrongly judged of bringing shame to our society. You know what? It seems that you are just going to cause more trouble here so I'm going to politely ask you to leave the exhibit. Girochi-san, please escort the lady out of this building."

"No problem sensei. Ma'am, I will have to escort you out of this building."

Just about a minute after the woman got escorted, Kazuki came up to his brother.

"Souma-kun. The trash can near the wall is starting to fill up. Can you take it out?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Thank you."

Souma then got the trash and went out to the back. When he got there he saw a teal-haired man digging through the trash. Souma stopped in his tracks, wondering if this person is who he thought he was. He was too far to see his face, but his figure was familiar to Souma.

"Could this be my brother?" he was thinking. He wasn't sure since the man hasn't looked up yet. About a few seconds later he finally looked up. The first time he only looked at him for a split-second before he was about to return back to his trash digging. But when he did his double take he immediately froze, looking as Souma. It was by no reasonable doubt that it was Tsubasa.

"Onii-chan?" Souma said.

Tsubasa didn't say a word at first, just glaring at him. Souma was slowly walking up to him when he called him out again. This time Tsubasa respond.

"Who are you?"

By then Souma was only a few feet away from him, "I'm Souma, your brother."

"You're my baby brother?"

"Yes, It's me, Souma, you're baby brother."

"Baby brother?"

"Yes, baby brother," Souma replied, not fully understanding how disoriented he was due to his schizophrenia. Slowly Souma came up to him, all the while Tsubasa kept on saying 'baby brother'. Eventually, Souma got close enough to him to hug him, but Tsubasa was still in his dazed state, just saying 'baby brother.' Souma was able to hug him for about fifteen seconds, but then suddenly and unexpectedly, Tsubasa forcefully pushed him off. The force was great enough to send Souma flying backwards towards the trash cans. Kazuki and Girochi was nearby when they heard the crash.

"What was that?" Girochi asked to Kazuki.

"I don't know, but it sounded like it came from outside. Let's check it out."

Girochi nodded his head in agreement and they headed to the back.

Meanwhile, Tsubasa's schizophrenic state was becoming more apparent. "Baby brother you not! Baby brother you not! You lie! You lie!"

"It's really me onii-chan! You got to believe me!" Souma said while still lying on the trashcans.

"You lie! You lie!" he shouted.

Things were about to get dangerous when he pulled out his knife. Souma was scared and he immediately got up. Only a second later did Kazuki and Giroch opened the back door. Tsubasa instantly saw them and ran away quickly. Souma screamed, "Come back Onii-chan! Please come back!"

The two only had a short time to look, but it was long enough for them to know who it was. Girochi chased after Tsubasa but he was able to disappear after he fled the alley. Kazuki checked up on Souma to see if he's alright.

Girochi ran back to where Souma and Kazuki was and asked Souma, "Was that Tsubasa-san?"

"Yes it was," he replied in sadness, with his head hanging down.

"I'm glad that you're not hurt," Kazuki mentioned. "Look, let's get back inside and help"

Girochi was surprised at how Kazuki quickly brushed it off, "but he went through a traumatic experience. You can't just expect him to get back to work after what just happened."

"Well, letting him sit there and cry about it won't solve things, would it? I don't think so. We have an exhibition to run and it's going to need all the manpower available to run it."

Girochi wanted to protest but he knew very well that it wouldn't work. While that was going, some else was about to take shape. Corona, being unceremoniously kicked off the platform, was at the corner sulking. Yukihito saw this and went up to her.

"I can't believe that okama kicked up off there like that."

"Yeah, well that fairy an egotistical ass," she hypocritically noted.

"Well aren't they all are? A bunch of drama queen pansies?"

Corona laughed and then turned her head to face Yukihito, "Yeah, but he's like that stupid catgirl that runs the park, acting self-righteous and thinking they are making things better for the rest of us, yeah right!"

"So I see. Well maybe I can make things better for you, actually I can make things better for the both of us."

Corona knew what he mean, so she responded, "Man, you're so predictable. I know what will make you feel better," she seductively smirk. "But there's no private place around here."

Yukihito smirked back in return and said, "I know one, follow me." And he lead her to a closet far away from the main area.

Besides the confrontations, the exhibit went better than expected. It actually lasted until five in the evening, which by that time in early November, the sun has already set. It left a positive and informative impact on the guests and proved that homeless people are not worthless. It also brought awareness to other issues such as animal abuse and discrimination. Nekoko's cat circus entertained and amazed the folks. Chikane 's musical performances kept the crowd entertained, despite the switch between Corona and Hana and how they tested her patience with their long-winded singing. Natashi's display brought more awareness to a subject that is considered taboo in Japan. And so did Himeko's artwork and photos. Plus, she enlightened the people about the homeless and their dilemmas. In all, it was a success.

Himeko needed help carrying her artwork back to the tent so Chikane reluctantly pitched in and carried the remaining artwork with her. They didn't say anything on their way back to the park, and they didn't say much in the tent when they were putting away the stuff.

After they were done, Chikane said good bye but she didn't go back to the station, instead she went to the other side of the park and sat on the bench, looking at the moon. It was one of her favorite activities. She didn't know that Himeko was following her all that time. She figured that now was the time for her and Chikane to have a serious talk...

*****

+-+-+

As she sat on the bench, Chikane realized it was only seven in the evening, but the thoughts that were swimming through her mind felt like they had been sailing for days. She wasn't sure what she should be thinking, or feeling for that matter. Unbeknownst to her, Himeko was only a few feet away, having followed her through the night. Similar thoughts were making their way through Himeko's mind as well. The young girl was biting her lower lip in anticipation as she moved closer to Chikane.

The last thing she wanted to do was to say something that'll cause Chikane to distance herself even more, creating an awkwardness that couldn't be avoided. If anything, Himeko wanted them to become closer but because of Chikane's current thoughts, badgering her mind, she felt that was impossible. With her art, it seems Himeko could entertain anyone, shyness aside. But when it came to everything else, especially Chikane, she felt as if her timidity was an inevitable feat that couldn't be controlled. As Himeko approached the older girl, Chikane's silhouette in the moonlight looked almost surreal as she sensed Himeko's presence, speaking softly.

"I really enjoy looking at moon."

"Why is that?" Himeko questioned, stepping closer to the girl.

"Because it looks so beautiful in the night sky. I always wanted to know what it's like to be over there," Chikane said languidly as she turned her half-lidded eyes to the younger girl.

Himeko replied, fingers idly toying with each other, "From what I read in school and from what I saw on TV, there's nothing on the moon. It's gray, empty and it has no air. Most likely you won't be able to go there, nobody has been there since the Apollo missions." However Chikane shrugged, smiling to herself.

"I know that, but I would like to go to a place where you don't have to worry about people hurting you or you hurting others."

Himeko started to understand where this was going, so she said, "Maybe nobody will hurt you but then how will you live?" The silence loomed, but it wasn't uneasy. Chikane looked up and over at Himeko, who's fingers were still laced as she stood, nervously watching the older girl warily.

Chikane was a bit bewildered at what Himeko just said, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, yes, nobody will hurt you but then you will have nobody to share anything with. That's how we grow, we share our feelings, thoughts, and emotions. We do hurt others, either intentionally or unintentionally, but as long as we are alive we will be fine. After all, what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger," Himeko noted, moving closer to the girl.

Chikane felt the corner of her eyes begin to water after she said that. The emotions welling up inside Chikane were beginning to take its effect as stray tears escaped, falling down her pale cheeks under the moonlight. Himeko could see some sort of fear in her watered eyes through the luminescence. Himeko bit her lower lip, speaking softly to an audience of two, "What are you afraid of?"

"The last thing I want to do is to hurt you..." Chikane whispered, looking away somewhat. Now it all makes sense to Himeko as to why she was distancing herself from her. The brisk small talk, how she rarely made eye contact, or how she'd avoid allowing herself to get too close, Himeko knew now why. Chikane was trying to protect her.

The older girl continued, "I've already lost Otoha and it would kill me if I lost you too. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if anything ever happened to you and I was forced to live this life without you," Chikane reached up, grasping Himeko's hands within her own tightly. Waves of sapphire blue crashed against the amethyst sea as they gazed into each others eyes, each now glistening with tears unshed. Himeko moved to sit beside her as Chikane grew lost within her eyes, "You're too good for me, Himeko. You can do so much better..." As she finished, her shoulders began to shake as the tears soon fell at a rate that was unstoppable.

Himeko's eyes soon shed tears at the sheer thought of Chikane being tormented over this, moving to quickly console her grieving friend, "No, Chikane-chan, don't ever think like that! I know deep down you love me too much to ever hurt me," As Himkeo spoke, Chikane looked up at the girl, sniffling. Himeko smiled softly as she continued, "I know you'll always be here to protect me. Losing Otoha wasn't your fault. You two did what you thought was the only way to get out of a terrible situation," Chikane closed her eyes as Himeko's fingers danced against her cheek, thumb slowly brushing away stray tears.

"Nobody's perfect in this world and there will never be a perfect relationship, but I want you to know that you make me feel like I'm on top of the world. I've never felt this way before and I would rather have my life be spent with you than anyone else. My heart is totally and unconditionally committed to you," Himeko said softly. She felt Chikane's hand hold hers against her cheek as Himeko just put her heart and soul on the line as their eyes met once more, pale moonlight, draping over them like a celestial blanket. Chikane's heart skipped a beat as the thought of Himeko confessing her love caused emotions long stored away to come out of the confines of her mind.

"You...you love me. Do you...really mean it?"

"With all my heart," Himeko said as she reached up with her free hand to wipe her eyes. Chikane turned and kissed the palm of Himeko's hand softly. The action caused a small blush to form on her cheeks. Himeko's smile was still radiant in the luminescent moonlight; in fact it took Chikane's breath away.

As Himeko watched Chikane carefully, she cited a quotes the truly touched her heart, "Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you. Where you go, I will go; where you lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die - there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you," Chikane blinked, Himeko's sudden devotion to being with her no matter what caused her heart to flutter within her chest.

Chikane dried her eyes, smiling lightly, she knew where that quote came from, "That's from the Bible, when Ruth told Naomi how much she loved her. I remember Otoha telling me that after we had a Bible study on Ruth in the orphanage."

Himeko nodded her head in confirmation and said, "Yes, that's exactly where I got it from."

"But Hime-chan, why did you choose that quote? You know that I'm not big on religion," Chikane's eyes travelled curiously along Himeko as the girl shrugged slightly.

"Because I thought it was a beautiful way Ruth showed her commitment to Naomi and how much she loved her. It's the same commitment that I have for you and to show how much I love you." Chikane's eyes widened when she heard that. But the night grew to a stand still the moment Chikane caught on that Himeko was moving closer. They held their breath as they clutched each other's hands, eyes slowly drawing to a close as the moonlight caressed their skin.

The feeling of Himeko's warm lips pressing on her own in a fervent kiss made Chikane feel intoxicated with heavenly delight. It was clear to her that she was meant to be with Himeko, regardless of what other people think. This was more wonderful than the first kiss she got from Otoha. The feeling was overwhelming to the point where Chikane never wanted it to end. It barely lasted over a minute but it felt like a blissful eternity for the both of them.

When they finally broke their kiss, they slowly opened their eyes, staring into each others depths as Chikane pulled Himeko into a loving embrace. She never wanted to let go. The cold night air wasn't enough to deter the lovers as the warmth within their hearts was enough to keep the chill from the night at bay.

For the rest of the night, they sat there looking at the moon, coupled with the small talk they had together. Now Himeko knows what it's like being close to the moon, and she hopes that she'll never have to return.

*****

"Since I knew a good amount of English, and also knew how to fight, they hired me, even though I wasn't familiar with the area. Luckily enough, I was able to get familiar with Tokyo quick enough to show them around. Also perhaps because I'm a woman myself, the workers trusted me more than my male counterparts, and thus I was able to get them to even those high-society massage parlors, brothels, and girls services that usually rejected foreigners. With that, I ended up servicing very rich men, some of them were CEOs of well known companies and nonprofit organizations," Chikane finished.
 
Himeko was amazed at what Chikane said so far and she can tell that she wasn't lying. "Wow, they must be some very rich people."
 
"They sure were," Chikane agreed. "If fact let me tell you one of my clients. I don't want anybody else to hear it so come close so I can whisper it to you ear."
 
Himeko obliged and tilted her head towards Chikane. Being a little bit paranoid, she looked all around to see if anyone was nearby, and then she whispered his name to Himeko. When she heard the name, her eyes widen in total shock.
 
"Are you serious? I can't believe he would do something like that! He's-"
 
"Shhh, shh! Lower your voice, I don't want anybody to hear us!" Chikane cautioned.
 
"Ano, sorry. What I was going to say is that he's the leader of a well-known church."
 
"Yep, he sure is, and that's only half of the interested part."
 
"What's the other half?" she asked reluctantly, knowing it wasn't going to sound good.
 
"He was seeking for young boy services."
 
Himeko was in total shock. All she could say is, "Oh my."
 
But Chikane continued, "Eventually I got clients who wanted men instead of women, some of them were openly gay, some of them were closeted, some of them were leaders of a religious organization like that guy I told you, and some of them were high-level executives who were married but were closeted bisexuals. Both conservatives and liberals came to me for men's services."
 
"But what happened? It sounded like you made a lot of money, but now you're living on the streets?" Himeko asked.
 
"It lasted for three months. It was during that time that I met Corona. She was working under a madam who promised to help her get into the music business if she worked for her. It was nothing but a total lie, she was going to pimp her for all she barely worth and then throw her away like the garbage she is. Anyways, I took one of my clients to her brothel and he picked her out. He arranged with the madam to have her go to his hotel room, so she came along with us to the hotel and they went up to his room and they did you know what. I was just standing outside, waiting for it to end. He wanted me to join them and Corona had no problem with it but I declined. I've had many offers from clients to have sex with them, but I turned them all down, for obvious reasons..." she said with a small grin. Himeko just giggled.
 
"However, things didn't go as usually planned. About twelve minutes later, I heard some screaming coming from the room. I had the card key to the room, so I quickly opened it and I saw him on top of her, punching her face. He was screaming to her in English, 'You gonna take it up in your ass whether you like it or not!' So I came from behind and punched him right in his face, he fell off her and the bed, hitting the floor hard. While he was lying on the floor, I stomped on him until Corona pulled me off. Other than a black eye and a busted lip, she was all right. He was more hurt than she was, since I gave him a few cracked ribs."
 
"You would think that the madam would be happy that I saved one of her workers, but she wasn't. Instead she got angry with the both of us and then she told my boss. He fired me instantly after he got word of what happen."
 
Himeko was a bit puzzled, so she asked, "But that makes no sense, you saved somebody from getting beaten up by a bad man, why would they fire you?"
 
"Because, as I found out later, that man was a CEO of a huge multinational corporation who was one of her loyal customers. The madam was having issues with Corona, not surprisingly, and that bastard wanted to do some sick things, so she thought that he could teach her a lesson."
 
"But what about your boss?"

"He was in it too, so I kind of hurt things for him as well."
 
"Oh my, but you must have saved a lot of money from it, what happened to it?
 
"It all went into needles and powders."
 
Himeko didn't understand what Chikane meant, "Huh?"
 
"Drugs! That skank blew our money on drugs! After we both got fired, Corona stayed in my apartment so that she could get back on her feet again. I had a nice apartment but within a month, it was gone because she spent all of my money on drugs. Very often she would come home in the middle of the nigh high and/or stoned. I hid my money a few times but somehow she found it and used it to feed into her drug habits. After losing the apartment, I moved to the station."
 
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Himeko said with a great deal of concern.
 
"It's not a big deal Himeko. I'm still living, that's what really matters. Anyways, let's enjoy the of the day, we might not get this chance very often."
 
"Okay!" Himeko simply replied and they went back to focus on their quality time together.
 
+-+-+
 
Kuu Shiratori was on her laptop, looking up information of missing and runaway children. She found the Children's Rights Network website. She got the phone number off there and called them.
 
"Children's Rights Network, how may I help you?"
 
"Ano, I would like to report a missing teenager."
 
"Okay, can you tell us the teen's name?"
 
"Yes, her name is Kurusugawa, Himeko."
 
"Are you her mother?"
 
"No, I'm her school teacher."
 
"Oh, okay ma'am, I'll check our database to see if we have any information on her already."
 
While the operator was looking her up, Kuu was thinking, "I hope that she's not already in their database." She figured if she was already in the database, then her guardians have already reported her disappearance and that if they find her, they would send her straight to her relatives. That was the last thing she wanted to happen, knowing how much pain Himeko went through.
 
"We found her. She was already reported. Do you have any new information on her?" She became worried. By then she had to think of a way not to have Himeko sent to her parents while continuing her conversation.
 
"Actually I do. She sent me an email a few days ago. I just took a look at it a few minutes ago."
 
"Did she say where she was in the email?"
 
"Nope, not at all. In fact, it seemed that she used an anonymous email program or website since the email address was kurusugawah@anonymousemail.co.jp"
 
"Oh, I see. Ma'am, can you forward us the email you got from her?"
 
"I sure can. But how are you going to find her with it since it seems that she made it anonymous."
 
"Nothing is 100% anonymous on the web. We'll send it to our tech crew to track it down."
 
"Oh, okay, thanks."
 
So the operator gave her the email address and then Kuu sent the email message to her. When she got the email, the operators asked with a very serious tone in her voice, "I just read part of the email you sent me and it seems that she ran away from her relatives because they physically abused her. This happens to be the number one cause of children running away. Do you know anything about it? Did you see any signs of physical abuse on her? This is very serious."
 
"Yes I have. I have seen her in my class a few times wearing heavy makeup, guessing that she was covering up her scars."
 
"Have you ever reported this?"
 
"Yes, I have, quite a few times to the headmaster. All he kept on saying was that he'll take care of it. He never did anything about it. Now I wish I had done more about it," she sniffled, as she was about to cry, feeling that she let Himeko down.
 
"Ma'am, don't let that get to you. We're glad that you reported this to us and if we find her, we will have her examined for any signs of abuse before her guardians find out. And we will inform you as well."
 
Kuu was relieved at what she heard, "Oh, thank you very much miss. I'm really concerned for her."
 
"I understand your concern, we will put our best efforts to locate her. When we do get something, we will contact you immediately."
 
"Thank you very much," she said and then she hung up the phone. She took a slow and deep breath and said to herself, "I hope nothing happened to Himeko-san."
 
+-+-+
 
Later on during the day, Himeko and Chikane left the park and went back to the station. When they got there, they were surprise to see Kazuki near Chikane's 'spot.'
 
"What are you doing here?"
 
"I came here to say thank you for your participation at the exhibition. Both of your music and artwork really impressed the people."
 
"Why thank you, we really appreciate the opportunity it provided from us and we would like to help you guys out anyway we can in the future," Chikane assured.
 
"Really, that's good to hear because I really need your help."
 
"Why? What's the problem," Himeko said.
 
"The bill for cleaning up and repairing the temple is much more than I thought, so I'm here to ask if you two could donate some money."
 
One again, Chikane was hesitant but Himeko was sure about giving him some money.
 
"I don't know if we got enough to spare," Chikane uneasily replied.
 
"Sure we do!" Himeko noted. Chikane gave her a look that was a wild mixture of surprise and anger. Himeko went into her pocket and pulled out her personal money of 8,000 yen, which was almost all the money she had. That put Chikane on a tight spot. She didn't want to give him any of their hard-earned money but she also didn't want to look bad either, so she gave him 5,120 yen from her pocket.
 
"Thank you very much for your kind contributions. I assure you that it will not be forgotten," he said as he heads back to the temple. When he finally left, Chikane immediately had a word with Himeko.
 
"Why did you give him most of your money?"
 
"Because he needs it more then we do, the damages done to the temple were quiet bad. Also, we can make some more."
 
"But don't you see how much money we gave him?" she noted with a calm yet a tense and cold tone.
 
"Its just money. It's the least we can do for him since he made it possible to showcase our talents to others."
 
"Yeah, and he should have been paying us for that. How are we ever going to leave the streets if you hand out our money to other people?" Himeko couldn't come up with an answer. "Now thanks to you, we are going to have to work again to get back that money. Do you realize how long it took for us to make that money?"
 
Himeko barely eeked out 'yes' since she was about to cry, but then she added, "Maybe you're just better off without me, since it seems that I can't do anything good enough for you." After that she quickly ran away from Chikane, disappearing within the huge crowd in the station.
 
Chikane couldn't believe that Himeko would run away like that. She didn't think that she was being that harsh to her, but according to Himeko, she was. So she chased after her through the crowds, shouting her name.
 
"Himeko, I'm sorry! Please come back! Himeko!"
 
Unfortunately, a moment later she lost her. She hung her head low in disappointment and took a long walk throughout the station, thinking of what she should do next to repair the situation.
 
+-+-+
 
Back at Hana's place in the alley, Hana was doing his usual dressing up, seeing what piece of clothing looked best on him. He was checking out his makeup when Himeko came to his place with tears on her cheeks.
 
"Hello there darling, it's nice to see you as always." Then he noticed the flushed eyes and tears on her cheeks. "Huh? What's wrong Hime-chan? Why are you crying?"
 
"Chikane-chan hates me," she mustered.
 
"Well what makes you say that?"
 
"Because she's upset that I gave some of our money to Oogami-sensei so that he can repair his temple."
 
Hana simply stated, "I see."
 
"Now she doesn't want to have anything to do with me," Himeko sobbed.
 
Hana expected it all along, but what she said confirmed his hunch, "Are you two in a relationship?"
 
"Yes, but it's probably over now."
 
Hana had to hold his chuckle, thinking that it was a bit trivial but apparently it wasn't to Himeko. "Don't be so melodramatic. I don't think it is, darling. Just because you have one fight doesn't mean it's over. I'm very sure that Chikane-san still loves you. From what I've detect from my gaydar in the past month, I think Chikane really loves you."
 
"She love's me now, but what if I screw up again? Will she keep on loving me?"
 
Hana just looked at her gently and said, "Of course she will. She might be upset with you right now, but eventually she will calm down. From the way she defended you against Nekoko the other day, it seems that she's more patient with you than with other people. Besides, did you talk about it with Chikane before handing the money over?"
 
"No," she muttered while hanging her head down.
 
"That's probably why she's so mad with you, you made a decision without having her involved in it. Well, now you're in a relationship, you got to work things out together. You can't do anything you please without her knowing about it. A relationship is all about trust. It is also about maturity, thus you can't run away from every problem you cause or have to face. Only kids do that."
 
Himeko kept her head down and responded, "Yes, you're right. How could I be so stupid?"
 
Hana lightly chuckled and then he told her, "Don't worry about it, I did that a few stupid things myself with my late husband, Mike. As Chikane-chan, Nekoko-chan, and my girls can attest, I can be rather impulsive myself. But if things go wrong, you got to work it out together, no matter what it takes. Because you never know when your partner will no longer be with you," he said with a sad voice.
 
Himeko knew about Hana's one-time "husband," Mike and she knew how much he loved him. Though they were not legally married, Hana felt such a strong bond with him, that he considered him to be his husband. They were together for almost five years when he started having pain in his stomach. The doctors diagnosed it as cancer. It had progressed too far to be treated. It left Hana devastated, knowing that his lover wouldn't be around for very long. Six months later, he left the earth, leaving Hana feeling, in his own words, "eternally empty." Hana hasn't been with anyone else since, even though he got a few offers.
 
As Himeko saw the sadness on his face and tears welling up in his eyes, she realized how much Hana deeply missed him, but she also knew that she still has a chance to make it up with Chikane and that she better do so, or else. Knowing how much Hana was hurting, Himeko came up to him and comfort him, but it was a bit impossible since he was much taller than her, so he got on his knees and put his head on her shoulders. Then Himeko gave him the same advice she gave to Chikane about Otoha.
 
"I know that he's long gone, but always remember the wonderful times you two had together."
 
"I know that, but sometimes it's so..." he couldn't complete the sentence and instead he broke down and cry.
 
"Don't worry, you probably get to see him again in heaven."
 
Hana smiled at what he perceived to be Himeko's naivety, "Well at least you think I have a chance to get to heaven."
 
"Everybody has a chance to go to heaven. Nobody can say who gets to go and who doesn't, because nobody can read God's mind."
 
Hana chuckled at the fact that he realized that she wasn't so naïve after all, "That's so correct Hime-chan, and I think I need to tell that to some people in my church, especially the priest of my church, who is about to unceremoniously resign."
 
"Huh?"
 
"Remember the priest that I told you about who didn't want me to be in the church anymore?"
 
"Yes, I remember very well. I remember you telling me that during one of his sermons, you and a whole bunch of other gay people started singing 'We have a message' on the balcony."
 
Hana laughed at that one, "Yep, we sure did! Anyways, one of my girls and Sister Miyako found some evidence of him taking some of the money from the church to pay for his cancer treatment. Trust me, I fully understand how much cancer treatment can be, based on what me and Mike went through, but that still doesn't give him the right to take the church's money for his own selfish need."
 
Himeko shook her head, disapproving the priest's actions, "That's not right."
 
"No it isn't, and he's going to pay for it. He's set to go to court about a month from now. Now I know that the Lord forgives but he also makes sure that you face the consequences for your sins as well."
 
"That's very true," she agreed.
 
"Well you know the old saying, what goes around comes around," he noted. He was about to speak more about the matter but then he noticed something disturbing, "Girl, look at your nails, look how horrible they are! How could you keep them in such a way?" They really weren't horrible, but to him, even a chip on a nail is a sore sight.
 
Himeko, feeling a bit ashamed, stammered, "Well I-I-I do a lot of drawing and painting. My hands get dirty real quick."
 
"That's no excuse for a cute princess like you to have dirty nails! Sit down honey and let me paint them for you."
 
"You're really gonna do that for me?" Himeko said, being thankful at Hana's generosity.
 
"Of course I will, you little angel. It the least I can do for someone who took some of the most glamorous photos of me and also took some time to comfort me. Besides, I'll make them so pretty, Chikane-chan will lay kisses all over them!" he smiled. That got a chuckle out of Himeko. He was so impressed with her photos that he had her photos all over the place. "Now just take a seat and let me get the stuff and some water to wash your hand."
 
"Wow, thanks a lot Hana-chan!"
 
"No problem, Hime-chan," as he pulled out his nail filer and started to work on her nails.
 
+-+-+
 
Life seemed to be normal for Souma. His grades were still good, he was winning his tennis matches for his school, and his relationship with Makoto was going well, but instead he was still hurting. Hurting that his brother doesn't know him anymore. Hurting that he would even try to hurt him. But less apparently, yet most importantly, he was hurting that he believed that his brother didn't love him anymore. Though inside of him, there was still a glimmer of hope in him that things could be back to what it was.
 
While at home, he was staring outside of his window, wondering where his brother was. The outside fit Souma's state of mind perfectly, partly cloudy with a chance of rain. Sister Miyako was visiting the house when she saw him staring outside.
 
"Penny for your thoughts?"
 
"Right now, it's not even worth half of that," he despaired.
 
"You're still thinking about Tsubasa-chan, aren't you?"
 
"Yes, very much so. I can't believe that my own brother would want to kill me."
 
"His mind is not in the right place. He probably still thinks of you as a kid, thus when he see that you're an adult, he didn't believe you. A lot of people with schizophrenia are like that."
 
"I suppose. I would have never thought that his condition was that bad. Does that mean I lost him forever."
 
"No, no, nothing like that. When I talked to one of the doctors at the institution, they said that he was on a new experimental drug, since all the others fail. It was like a switch, sometimes it work, sometimes it didn't. I guess it wasn't working when he escaped."
 
Souma didn't say anything immediately, thinking about what she just said. Finally realizing that things won't be the same, he just got off the wall and was about to walk away, but he got stopped by Miyako.
 
"I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but I want you to realize how serious his condition is. Things won't be the same like it was before his schizophrenia, but that doesn't mean thing won't be for the better. There is still hope for Tsubasa-san."
 
"I hope so. I hope so," he simply replied. Just as he was about to go back to his room, Kazuki came into the room and got everybody's attention.
 
"Souma-kun, Sister Miyako, I need you two to come to my office right away."
 
"Why something is wrong?" she asked?
 
"Yes, someone sent me an email, and it's not good."
 
They quickly went to his office and took a look at his email. It was an anonymous email sent to him saying, "So you decided to run a fund-raiser to save your pathetic shrine? How cute. Well it won't be enough. Thrashing your place was just the beginning. Next time we will do worse."
 
"How did they get your private email?"
 
"I don't know but somehow they did."
 
"So should we report this to the police?"
 
"Absolutely, I'm not going to let them intimidate us one bit," he ended. Kazuki took out his cell phone and started to call the police.
 
+-+-+
 
It was around evening when Chikane came by Hana's place. He was trying on his new fur coat that he picked up in a dumpster when she came by.
 
"Hi, Hana-chan."
 
When he turned around and look at her, he saw sadness and worry on her face.
 
"Hey there, Chikane-chan? Why you look so bummed out?" He knew the reason but he didn't want to make it look so obvious.
 
"Its Himeko-chan. She's not happy with me."
 
Decided not to keep his act, he followed, "I know, she told me everything." Chikane had a surprised look. "Come on girl, my gaydar was on you two since that day with the Snake Clan. I knew for a while that you two were attracted to each other."
 
"But I didn't think we were that obvious."
 
"Hey, I don't think anyone else picked it up, but what I want to tell you is that she told me about how she gave away most of your money."
 
Chikane tried her best not to get upset about it, but Hana could see the disguised anger on her face, "I can't believe that she would give our money away like that. We only have so much. She can be so careless sometimes. I got angry at her and she ran away," she moped.
 
"No, Chikane, you have every right to be angry with her and I told her that. Hime-chan got the point and I bet when she sees you again, she'll apologize."
 
"I hope so," Chikane pessimistically noted. "I just hope our relationship won't be like this all the time."
 
Hana shrugged his shoulders and said, "I can't answer that one, but I know that no relationship is perfect. My relationship with Mike wasn't perfect. We constantly argued about who turn it was to walk the dog!"
 
"Well, that's true about relationships, it will never be perfect. But I don't want this to be happening too often."
 
"I don't think you have to worry too much about that. Compared to when I first met her, she seems to be showing signs of growing up."
 
"That's true indeed. She doesn't cry as often as she used too, and she's starting to come out of her shell a bit. She could still use a bit more growing up. Anyways, I got something for you."
 
"Really? What is it?"
 
"Let me pulled it out of my pocket." She reached into her right pants pocket and pulled out the gold necklace with the scratched ruby. Yes, the necklace she robbed from the pawn shop. Hana's eyes bulged as he looked in amazement at the necklace. He knew very well that Chikane didn't get it legally, but he didn't care one bit.
 
"Wow, is that really for me?"
 
"Absolutely, it's the least I can do for a dear friend who stuck by me when no one else would," she said as she handed him the necklace. As soon as he got it, he looked in his mirror in his cardboard-box "home" and put it on. He liked how it shined even thought there's a scratch on it.
 
"This is beautiful, thanks a lot, girlfriend!"
 
"You're welcome," she responded with a small smile on her face.
 
"Now how can I repay you?"
 
Chikane simply stated, "There really is no need, Hana-chan."
 
"Don't be so modest Chikane-chan, it's not you. I know what I can do for you; I put on some make up for you. Girl, as pale as you are, you need some makeup so that people won't mistaken you for Casper!"
 
Chikane was taken a bit by his comment and responded, "I am not that pale!"
 
"Trust me honey, you are. Now come here and let me make you look fabulous."
 
Chikane knew that he was as bullheaded as she was and that protesting would only make things worse, so she surrendered and let him put on the make up on her face.
 
+-+-+
 
Chikane got to Himeko's tent. She was nervous as hell, thinking things won't go right, but she knew that she couldn't let it get to her, so she had to have a talk with her. She made her presence known to Himeko and then she came out.
 
"Hey Himeko," she said with a bit of trepidation in her voice. "I need to talk to you. Look Himeko, I'm really-"
 
"No, Chikane-chan, let me say it first. I really want to apologize for giving our money away without asking you. I thought I was doing the right thing but I never took into account how you would feel. I know that you felt mad, angry, and left out, thus you had every right to be angry. Because of that, I felt guilty and hurt. I want to move on and make things better between us. Next time, we will talk it over and do it together, like a couple should."
 
Chikane just smiled, and simply responded, "Thanks, I didn't expect something like that from you."
 
Himeko chucked, "Hehe, I guess its part of me growing up, being accountable of my actions and taking responsibility. Now how can I make it up to you?"

Chikane just smiled and said, "Just don't do things so impulsively next time. When it comes to very important situations like that, we need to talk it over before making a decision."

"I very much understand, Chikane-chan?" Chikane smiled to show her approval, but Himeko had something else to say, "Speaking of important decisions and working together, which one of these paintings should I have framed? The one with Nekoko and her cats, or the one I did on this park?" Chikane shook her head and chuckled, "The one on the park. At least when I look at it I don't have to worry about tearing it up."

Himeko just laughed at her comment, then Chikane joined it. While they were laughing, Himkeo noticed something on Chikane, "Chikane-chan, you look... Different!"
 
Chikane looked at Himeko and smiled, "Hana-chan put some make-up on me, saying that I need it because I looked like Casper the ghost."
 
Himeko chucked some more, "Hehehehe, it looks nice but it also looks like he put on a bit too much."
 
"Well you know Hana-chan, he likes to overdo things."
 
Himeko smiled, "That's true, but he's still a sweet person." It was starting to appear that the extra make-up was getting on Chikane, so she offered, " How would you like me to put on some make up for you? I won't use as much."
 
Chikane laughed a bit and said, "I would love it if you do, as long as I don't look like something from the circus!"
 
Himeko chuckled again, "I won't do that, trust me."
 
"I do. I don't think you're capable of doing any worse."
 
So Himeko handed a bowl of water and a washcloth to Chikane to clean her face. Then when she dried her face, Himeko applied the make up to Chikane. While she was putting on the make-up, Chikane noticed her nails.
 
"You finger nails look pretty, who did them for you?"
 
"Hana-chan did, do you really like them?"
 
"Very much. The next time I meet him, I have him do my nails instead of my face."
 
She didn't kiss them as Hana proclaimed she would, but she noticed how beautiful they were and that was good enough for Himeko.
 
After she got done, Himeko handed the mirror to Chikane to look her face now. She liked it and it wasn't even half as much as Hana's.
 
"This is much better! Thanks a lot," she complemented and then gave her partner a soft loving hug. It made Himeko feeling better inside, even though that voice inside told her that it was just a fleeting moment, but she ignored it. After she finished hugging her, Chikane had something in mind. "Hey, right now it's night time, why don't we go and walk around the city. You can take your camera with you and take some pictures. I know you love doing that."
 
Himeko just happily nodded and grabbed her camera. Then she asked, "Where are we going anyways?" Chikane paused for a minute, thinking of a good place to go but they haven't been yet. That's not hard since Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world. Nevertheless, she had to think it over, figuring what place would be good taking pictures at night, and also what would be best for Himeko's safety. Finally something came in her mind.
 
"Ah, I know a good place. How about Shiba Park?"
 
"You mean where Tokyo Tower is at?"
 
"Yes, exactly."
 
Himeko loved the idea, "Absolutely! I would love to go there! Can we visit the tower, huh?" she pleaded like a young girl.
 
Chikane didn't want to burst her bubble, but knowing their financial situation she had no choice but to, "I wish. It cost about 850 yen ($8.70 USD) per person, and that's just for the first deck. To go to the top, it would cost an additional 600 yen ($6.10 USD). That's how they charge things over there." Himeko had a sad look on her face. Chikane reassured her that it wasn't worth it, "Trust me, it's not worth it. Besides, the line for the place is very long, even at night. Also, the Observatory at the Municipal Government building here has just as great of a view and it's much cheaper, as in free!"
 
Himeko put aside her disappointment and responded, "I understand. But I still want to go and takes some pictures."
 
"Well then let's get going!" Chikane commanded. So Himeko grabbed her camera and typical of her clumsy self, she tripped over herself on her way out. Luckily enough, the camera didn't break. Chikane just shook head but she had a smile on her face. "Girl... We need to work on your feet coordination. That's the first thing we are going to do tomorrow!" she kidded.
 
"Sorry," she simply replied.

"So do you think Neko-san knows about us?" Chikane asked.

"I don't think so. She seems to be as normal as usual. She does have a interesting look on her face whenever I talk about you."

Chikane laughed, finding it humorous, "Well that's Nekoko for you. As long as she's not being mean or nasty to you, that's fine with me. But if she does anything to you, I'll..."

"Chikane-chan," Himeko playfully noted. "She would never hurt me, she's my friend."

At first Chikane thought how naïve Himeko could be, but she realized that maybe she's right. After all she thought, Nekoko did go out of her way to protect her quite a few times and to help her out.

"Well that's true, but I don't know how she will act when she finds out about us. She was getting nasty to you when I stuck up for you at Hana-chan's. I could only think it would only get worse."

Himeko saw a great deal of concern and worry on Chikane's face, even though Chikane does worry a lot, so she gave her a soft squeeze.

"Don't worry about it, Neko-chan would never hurt me. She's not that type of person… Or cat."

"Sorry about that. You're right, maybe it's my instinctual nature of not trusting anyone."

Himeko looked at her and said, "I understand your concern, but I'll be fine." As she was about to explain more, she spotted the tower, "Hey look, it's the Tokyo Tower!" They were a mile away from it but the Tokyo Tower still dominate the night skyline with its luminescence. Chikane turned her head and looked. It was nothing special to her, she have seen it a million times, but to watch Himeko's face light up like a little kid brought a smile on her face. Himeko was already taking pictures of the tower and its surrounding areas, including Chikane. As Himeko was taking the pictures, they got closer to the tower. At around 200 feet from the Tower, Chikane noticed someone familiar. Chikane took a break from her "model shoot" and walked up closer to examine the person in more detail since the night lights weren't strong enough. At first Himeko wondered what Chikane was doing, so she followed her and then she recognized the person herself.

"Hey isn't it that Ed Hagglin, President of the World Organization of Evangelicals?"

"It sure is," Chikane noted.

Ed was visiting the country, trying to convert a few Japanese to Evangelical Christians. He was with a group of Japanese Evangelicals, ranging from a few young preteens to a 70-year-old elderly woman. They were all wearing a "Jesus Saves" long-sleeve shirt. Even though he's the President of an organization, he is also the pastor the Rock of Life Church in Colorado, USA, so they refer to him as 'Pastor Ed'. He was just talking to the group, telling them how excited he was about visiting Tokyo Tower.

Chikane said to Himeko in her usual cold and expressionless tone, "Maybe we should pay him a visit," and she slowly walked up to him.

Himeko looked at her and wondered, "But why? I mean he's busy talking to the people. I mean it's not like he knows you or anything, but... Oh my! Chikane-chan! Chikane-chan!" She hurried towards her, but Chikane was already about 10 feet behind the man before she stopped. She was just standing there, wondering if he would finally realized her presence. It wasn't until he heard Himeko's pleadings that he realized Chikane was over there. As soon as he laid his eyes on her, he took a quick jump in fright. He was indeed the guy Chikane whispered in Himeko's ear.

After that he started to act nervous. While trying to regain his composure, he looked at Chikane and said to her in English, "Hey, it's my old friend from my last visit here. What brings you here, and may I ask you who that little girl with you is?"

Chikane, knowing it was an act, went up to him and gave him the typical American greeting, a firm handshake, "Hi there! My friend and I were just hanging around the area. That's all. This is Kurusugawa Himeko, and she's not a little girl, she's my age," she said with a matter-of-fact tone in very passable English.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't know that. Anyways, it is nice to me you ma'am," then he offered her a handshake.

"It nice to greet you too," she said in her flawed English, a total contrast to Chikane's flawless English, as she bowed. Then she realized her mistake and shook his hand feverishly while apologizing. "So sorry, so sorry!" she apologized, like a stereotypical Japanese. Chikane closed her eyes and shook her head in embarrassment. Ed just laughed it off.

"Heh heh, no problem. I understand what you mean. So how long have you known each other?"

"Known each other?" she questioned, not fully understanding that part of English. Chikane noticed it and she translated it her in Japanese. "Oh, hee hee! Four month." Again, not using proper English since Japanese don't distinguish singulars and plurals. It wasn't a problem because Ed understood.

"That's good to know, and where are you from?" He asked. This time it was the translator who translated to her but she understood what he said.

"I am from Mahoroba."

"Oh, just like Chikane. I've been to Mahoroba before; it was almost 10 years ago. I knew a few people there, very beautiful city."

She only understood bits and pieces of his sentence, so she gave him a puzzled look. It wasn't until the translator repeated back that she understood and replied back in her imperfect English, "Yes, Mahoroba very beautiful."

"It sure is. Anyways, let me introduce both of you to the group." As he introduced the group, he called them by their first name, not familiar with the Japanese honorific customs. "This is my translator and pastor of the Eiji Evangelical Church, Jiro, and this is his wife Madoka and his fine and handsome son Masahiro. Then there's Deacon Nobuyuki, his wife Hisoka, and their two daughters Harumi and Hideko. And finally, two very faithful members of the church, my good and intelligent friend Fumio, and the woman who is always young in heart, Megumi." Yes, Megumi was the 70-year old woman.

"Nice to meet you all," Himeko spoke in Japanese.

"Nice to meet you too," Madoka responded. "Tell me, are you two Christians?"

Chikane, being on the spot, lied through her teeth, "Yes I am."

"I am!" Himeko said proudly.

"What denomination are you two? Are you an Evangelical?"

"I'm a Pentecostal," Himeko proudly noted.

"Ano, I am too," Chikane said, beginning to sweat, even though it was November. Himeko was surprise but she tried not to show it. There were some strange looks from some of the members when they heard Himeko's denomination. Chikane couldn't understand why but Himeko did and it made her feel more tense. She knew that Evangelicals and Pentecostals don't think highly of each other's denomination, contrary to popular belief. Fortunately for her, one of the members did.

"Really? I know a few Pentecostals. They're good people, and they really love the Lord."

"Yes, we really love the Lord," Himeko assured the lady, as she started to relax.

"That's good to hear. What school do you two go to?"

Her tensions went right back up as she was speechless, she didn't know any of the schools around Tokyo. The pastor translated what she said to Ed. Ed then got nervous, figuring that she, just like Chikane, was homeless and didn't go to school.

"Ano..." Was all that she could say as she was drawing blanks in her head as the situation clouded her thoughts. Chikane intervened once again saving her.

"We go to Yuushuu Public High School in Minato." The reason Chikane picked that school because she knew that there was a highly unlikely chance that anybody in that group attended that school. The school was known to be very secular and very liberal.

When they heard that, some of the members had pity looks on their faces, feeling sorry for the girls. One of them, Harumi, sympathized, "Oh I feel sorry for you. I heard they banned any type of religious activities there. We were planning to protest there since we got some friends who go there. They can't be allowed to stop us from proclaiming that Jesus is King!"

"Amen!" Chikane exclaimed, acting like she had the Holy Spirit jumped into her, while continuing on with her shenanigan. "We should have school prayers three times a day, right Hime-chan?"

Himeko was now in a tight spot. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't want to be caught either, so she simply responded, "Whatever you say, Chikane-chan."

Ed saw this and got upset about it, so he went up to Chikane, "Can I see you for a moment?"

"Sure, no problem," Chikane replied. She followed him and when they were a few feet away from the group, he scolded her.

"What are you doing? It's bad enough that you are here."

"I'm not doing anything bad. I was just trying to protect me and Himeko's butt. So I made up that story."

"Did you come here and try to blackmail me since you knew I was here?"

"NO! Not at all! I didn't even know you were visiting this country. It was mere coincidence that we met. My girl and I have what you would call in English, a 'ritual', when we go each night and she takes pictures. We just happen to choose this destination."

"Your girl? I knew you were 'different'," he said with a sly grin. Chikane on the other hand, wasn't so flattered.

"Oh shut up, me and you are in the same boat. It was me who introduce you to that hunky Filipino male stripper, right? He doesn't go around telling everybody that he's bisexual."

"True, but that doesn't mean you can just walk by and approach me. You know I have a respectful reputation to keep, a very respectable image in my church and in my community."

"That depends on who you ask…" Chikane sarcastically noted, knowing full well that his religious views are not very well liked to many people. He responded by giving her an angry look, but she continued, "Which is why I need you to do me a favor."

Ed looked at her hard and said, "What is it?" Although he had an idea of what it was.

"I need for you to take us with you to the Tokyo Tower. Himeko really wants to go to the top level."

"What! Are you kidding? How would the group feel that we are taking total strangers to the top?"

"Well from the looks of it right now, they sure wouldn't mind having us joining them. Well at least they don't mind Himeko," she stated as she turned around and looked at Himeko and the group. It seemed they were enjoying Himeko displaying her photo shoots on her camera. Then Chikane added, "Plus, you owe me one. Remember the one guy who recognized you when you were walking out the building? I had to lie for you, telling him it was one of your missions to introduce Jesus to the male strippers! Don't you remember that?"

Ed reluctantly relented to Chikane's demand, "Okay, okay. I'll let you two join us, but I don't want you to do too much interaction with the group."

Chikane agreed, "Fair enough, but what about Himeko? It seems that she doing quite fine with the group."

Ed looked over and saw the group surrounding Himeko, listening to what she had to say. Back at the group, Himeko was responding to the school's ban of prayer.

"I believe that Jesus is king, but not everybody does, and we got to respect that. It's a public school and it was made for everybody, so we got to respect everybody's views. The best way to show that Jesus is king is to be like Jesus, that means helping others out, participating in community events that benefits everyone, provide goodwill to others, standing up for what's right for everybody, and maintaining our integrity. If we do these things and live by his teachings, then others would want to be like us. That's how we proclaim him to being king, by being like him!"

There was a bit of eerie silence from the group, realizing the she was right. It also probably made them take a deeper look at their actions. Himeko noticed it and tried to break the tension, "There's no need to feel ashamed. Just because you guys started protesting doesn't make you bad people. We all make mistakes, it's how you handle them that really matters. You can still make it up," she said, learning for her experience with Chikane. When Chikane heard that, she had a huge smile on her face. Then the members in the group smiled and then they started bowing to her, thanking her.

Ed saw the entire thing and knew it would be detrimental for him to restrict her like he did to Chikane, so he reluctantly relented once again, "Okay, she can mingle with the group."

Chikane simply said, "Good," without breaking her smile.

After their private conversation end, they headed to the group. While they were walking over there, Himeko was now showing small portraits of her drawings and paintings she keeps in her pockets.

"... This is another portrait of my drawing of Jonah and the Whale."

The group was amazed at the quality. "Wow, it's so amazing how you drew the whale," said Hisoka.

Himeko smiled, "Thanks. It's one of my favorites. And this is a drawing of my neighbor's cat. His name is Yoshi."

A few squeals came from the young girls when she showed the drawing.

"Ahhh! He's so adorable! Wow, you're a really good artist!" said one of the girls.

Himeko smiled again and lightly blushed, thanking her, "Why thank you!"

While standing a few feet away, Chikane called her, "Hey Hime-chan, Pastor Ed is letting us come with him to the Tokyo Tower."

A gleaming smile showed on her face that was very present even in the night lights.

"Really? Wow! Thank you," she elated as she ran to Chikane and hugged her. While hugging her, she was thinking that Chikane did another one of her schemes, so she whispered to her, "I hope you didn't do something bad?"

Chikane whispered back to Himeko's ear, "No, Himeko, I didn't do anything bad. I'm honest. He owed me for a favor I did for him a long time ago." Himeko stopped hugging her, stepped back, and then looked at her straight at her eyes. Chikane knew what she was doing, but she had nothing to hide, so she simply told her, "It really was a favor. He was coming out of a male strip club when someone recognized him. So I lied for him, telling that guy that he was there doing the Lord's job. Please Himeko, you got to believe me."

Himeko saw the honesty in her face and in her eyes. She smiled back and said, "I believe you."

"Thanks," she simply replied, but Himeko wasn't so patient.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"But, wai-," She didn't have the time to utter her words and she was quickly grabbed Chikane's hands and pulled her to the group. Ed couldn't help but laugh. He walked up to the group and addressed them, "Well it looks like everybody's ready, so let's go!" And so they headed to the lines. Even during night time the line could be long and it's wasn't until forty minutes later that they were finally able to get inside Foot Town, a building directly underneath the tower. It's where they have to use the elevator to go to the top. As promised, Pastor Ed paid for everybody and then they got on the elevator. The tower has two observations: the Main Observatory and the Special Observatory. The Main Observatory is located around the middle of the tower and the Special Observatory is near the top of the building. In order to get to the Special Observatory, one must go to the Main Observatory, purchase another ticket there, and then take another set of elevators to get to the Special Observatory.

While they were going up to the Main Observatory, Himeko was looking through the "look down windows" on the bottom of the elevator, amazed at how far up they were going.

"Wow, it's so amazing looking down from up here," she said to Chikane.

Chikane looked down as well, "It was the first few times I've rode it, but then I got used to it."

"I've haven't been this far up since that skiing trip to Mt. Okisawa."

"You've been there too?" she replied, remembering when that rich girl in the club brought that up.

"What do you mean 'I've been there too'?"

"I knew a few of my high-level executive clients who went there."

"Oh"

Chikane was thinking in her mind, Whew! That was a fast one!

When they got to the Main Observatory, they looked outside through the big windows. It displayed the surrounding area of Minato. Himeko was in awe of how the city's lights lit up the Tokyo skyline.

"Wow, this is beautiful. I need to take a few pictures of this!" she said as she grabbed her camera.

"I prefer this view over the Special's view. I think we get to see more of the city that way."

"Really?

Ed was enjoying the view; it was all new to him seeing Tokyo this way. As for the rest of the group, some have already seen it, so it was nothing new to them. However as for the two young girls, Harumi and Hideko, it was their first time so they were amazed as well.

Chikane wanted to use this time to get closer to Himeko, but she couldn't as Pastor Ed wanted another private discussion with her.

"Look, sorry to interrupt you but I'm only going to be here for at least a week. Do you know any 'hotspots'?"

"I no longer work for Fujihito, however I'm now an independent consultant," she lied, knowing very well that if she let Ed know that she's homeless, he would lowball the payment. As mentioned earlier, Ed knew that she was already homeless from an undisclosed source and knew that she was just making sure he wouldn't screw her over.

"Look Chikane, you're not fooling me one bit. I know that you don't have a place, but don't worry about me taking advantage of you. I will pay you the usual charge, if not more, but I assume you still have some connections?"

"Of course. In fact, I have more connections than before," yet another lie. "I'll get you something in about three days."

"Make it four, I got a conference in three days. After which, I am free until my flight back to the States."

"Fine, just give me your pre-paid cell number and I will contact you."

"Okay. How much would be for your end of the service?"

"The same, about 20,000 yen (around $245 USD)."

"Okay, it's good to see that prices haven't changed much since eight months ago."

"Nope."

"Okay, well it's a deal, and you better let no one else know about this," he stressed. Chikane had a small gulp when he said that, since she suspected that Himeko already suspected. Ed saw the concern on her face and replied, "Don't tell me that girl knows!"

"She's very perceptive and observant. It's one of her traits of being an artist."

"Shit! I swear to God you better have her not tell anyone else," he panicked. So much for being a man of the Lord…

"She won't, I promise," Chikane confidentially assured him, but he wasn't sure himself.

"You better make sure she doesn't tell anyone. Because if I go down, you're coming with me," he threatened.

Chikane just gave him a cold stare and said "That's what you think, sir. You don't know me very well."

"And you don't know me very well either, miss. But I'm not here to make threats; I'm here to enjoy myself, so I think it's time for me to get the group ready for the next trip." However, the conversation didn't end there, "But Chikane, really? A Pentecostal?"

Chikane rolled her eyes in total disbelief and sighed, "Pastor Ed, please. Like I'm going to find some openly gay Evangelical girl to date. Can we just go now?"

With that being said, he rounded up the troop, paid for their tickets to go to the Special Observatory and got on the elevator. While they were on the elevator, Himeko once again looked through the glass at the bottom of the elevator, amazed at how far up they were going.

"I can't wait to see the Observatory, it will be great."

Chikane calmly noted, "Yeah but it won't be as great as the main one. What you mostly see will be the skyscrapers. If this was daytime and the sky was clear, you would see Mt. Fuji."

"I would love to see that!"

"You're better off going to the Shinjuku building during the daytime. It's a much better view."

"Oh ok. Anyways, Chikane-chan, I was wondering, how do you know English so well."

"Well one of the nuns back at the orphanage was from New Zealand. She taught us how to speak English. I knew that learning English was vital in me making money, since English is the main language people use to conduct business. Plus me and Otoha made a vow that if we ever leave the orphanage, we will move to San Francisco or London, so me and Otoha made sure we got our English down correctly. Otoha and me developed a friendship with the nun; she was very helpful in correcting our English. I also learned some Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and a little bit of German during my time here."

"Wow, that's amazing."

"So how do you know some English yourself? I know it wasn't from those crappy classrooms," Chikane curiously asked.

"Well my relatives had a lot of guests from America coming to our place, so I had to know some English to communicate with them. They're really good with English, since they've gone there and England so many times."

"I see."

Then they finally got to the top. When they got there, they were able to see more of the Tokyo skyline.

"You are right Chikane-chan. The other one is better, but I still like it!" she said to her in English since Ed was nearby.

"It still looks beautiful to me," Ed inserted. "It's amazing to see all these wonderful skyscrapers. It wasn't long ago that Tokyo was a small town, now it has all these skyscrapers."

"Ano... I understood the first part, but what did he say in the second part?"

Chikane translated the second sentence to Himeko and the she replied back to Ed, "Yes, it is amazing! Tokyo small long time ago."

After that, Himeko whipped out her camera and start taking photos. Chikane decided to leave her to her own device and went to the other side of the observatory where the group was looking. Pastor Jiro came up to Chikane, "So where do you attend church at?"

Chikane nearly broke into a sweat, she had no idea of any Pentecostal churches in Tokyo, but she did know a few in Mahoroba.

"Ano, Spirits of the Lord at Mahoroba."

"Oh I've heard of that one. That's where they do those so-called 'faith healing'?"

Chikane, who just like Jiro, thought it was all BS, but had to respond back in a way to support it.

"Well if you got the Holy Spirit in you, anything can happen, hallelujah!" she exclaimed with quite a bit of phony joyfulness. Amazingly enough he didn't pick it up, but nevertheless, he was skeptical.

"Sure... Anyways, how did you learn English?"

"I had a nanny from New Zealand who taught me. She was an Au Pair."

"Really? You had a Western nanny? Wow, you must be rich!"

Chikane was about to break into a sweat when she heard that, "Ano, yeah! My father works as a television producer at NHK TV."

"Really? Well here's my business card, please hand it to him. I am trying to have my church service broadcast on TV so that people in Japan knows about our church and about God. Our church service may not be 'exciting' as yours, but it's very informative and it's by no means boring," he added, clearly putting down the Pentecostal service.

"I sure will give it to him when I see him," she replied with a bit of nervousness.

"Thank you very much. I would greatly appreciate it."

Chikane then had a question for him, "Now how do you know English so well?"

"Well, me and my family used to live in Colorado for six years, where Pastor Ed's church was located. We just move backed here two years ago, and my son still has that nasty habit of saying things in English. I hope that-" he was about to continue but his wife unexpectedly interrupted him.

"Honey check this out, the Toyota blimp is outside!"

"Anyways, we'll talk later. I got to attend to my wife. Thanks for the offer."

"You're welcome," she sighed in relief. Then she said to herself, "Thanks goodness he's gone, I don't know how much I can put up with that act."

With him out of her hair, she went to where Ed and Himeko were at. It seemed that they were having a conversation, even with Himeko's limited English. Much to Chikane's surprise, he was able to put up with her 'Engrish.' She was describing an event that occurred in her church, with Pastor Ed trying his best to be polite and not to criticize it.

"... Then man started to speak in tongue when Holy Spirit went in him. He then sing and dance up and down aisle."

" I think you mean the aisle," he corrected.

"Yes, the aisle, thank you. Anyway, after that, he become joifuru-"

"That's joyful, Hime-chan," Chikane intervened

" Ah yes, thank you! He have much joy in him, he fell on ground and have... How do you say 'konvorixyu-shon'?"

"You mean 'convulsion'? Are you sure that's the word you want to use?"

"Yes, that what he have, a convulsion. You never see people have Holy Spirit in them to have convulsion?"

" Ano.. No?" she questioned. In the back of her mind, she was thinking, "And I thought that the Catholics were nutty, they really take the cake here! And I thought that all that stuff they do on TV was just made up for it. They actually believe in that!"

Before she responded, Ed interrupted, "A convulsion?"

"Yes, a convulsion."

Ed tried not to roll his eyes, trying to hide his disdain for some of the Pentecostals practices that include speaking in tongues, faith healings, and personal revelations. Nevertheless, Himeko noticed it.

"So I see... Well I got to check up on the others. I'll be right back."

As soon as he was far enough, Himeko pouted, "He thinks we're a bunch of weirdoes. All Evangelicals do. They say we are nutty."

Chikane put Himeko's head on her shoulder and comforted her. "Don't pay him any mind. His religion is not that much better from what I heard."

"I know, but he still doesn't have to be mean to us."

"Like I said, don't pay him any mind. At least you don't have to hide who you are and you are no big hypocrite."

Himeko smiled, "That's true."

With her right arm around Chikane's back, she turned around looked at the sky. She was in wonder of how the lights from the skyscrapers made the atmosphere look surreal.

"It looks so pretty, but it's not like how it is in Mahoroba," She said, smiling softly at the thought.

"What do you mean? It's nearly dark during this time at Mahoroba?" Chikane said, looking at Himeko.

"Yeah, but sometimes I miss the mountains and trees, and all those beautiful flowers that comes up in spring. Sometimes I miss the quietness and the natural beauty of Mahoroba. I especially miss going to the beach during the summer, that's whenever I can," She said, playing with the fabric of Chikane's shirt. She smiled, looking down at Himeko as the girl continued.

"Mahoroba is unique that it's not far away from the mountains yet it's also not far away from the beaches," She spoke, closing her eyes as she snuggled closer to Chikane.

"I know what you mean, Himeko. But Mahoroba also reminds me of all the bad times in my life. The orphanage, the people who ran it, the beatings, the abuse, the…" Chikane spoke out of spite, narrowing her eyes at the memories. She bit her lip as she couldn't continue, starting to feel the tears from ghosts past breach the corner of her eyes. Himeko gently lowered Chikane's head to her shoulder as she cried, running her fingers through the girls hair, hushing her quietly.

"I know the feeling. Sometimes it also reminds me of all the cruelty, and the humiliation I suffered when I was there. Maybe we are better off staying here in Tokyo," She whispered softly, holding her lover close. Chikane responded by nodding her head in Himeko's shoulder, tears slowing to a halt as she sniffled lightly.

"Chikane-chan?" she asked softly while stroking her hair.

"Yes," she responded softly with her face still flushed.

"Will you always be there for me? Will you stand up for me no matter how much I may fail? Be the one who supports me when others left me cold. You mean everything to me and I will do my best to prove that to you," Himeko spoke barely above a whisper, tears of her own gathering at the thought of a negative answer.

"Of course, as long as you do the same for me. You mean the world to me as well, Himeko. And I thought I was the one with trust issues," she replied then put her head back on Himeko's shoulder, closing her eyes and sighing softly.

There was something that Himeko really wanted to say, but she was afraid of how much damage it could bring. While she thought there were some things better left unsaid, she felt that if she didn't bring this to light, she would never know where she stood. The thought alone made her heart race as beads of sweat trailed along her brow, biting her lower lip.

"Well it's just that… Sometimes I think you still love Otoha-san and you haven't really gotten over her," Himeko said, closing her eyes tight as if expecting something bad to happen.

Chikane immediately sprang her head from her shoulder, "Himeko, I'm done with Otoha. It's you that I love, no one else. I do miss her but I'm no longer attached to her," she protested lightly, touching Himeko's chin so as to make the girl open her eyes and look at her.

"But why do you tend to bring her up so often?" Himeko stared to shed tears at the feeling of guilt that stabbed her in the gut for having asked.

"Because she was the only person besides you that I've ever been close to. She's the only other person who I've ever trusted with my heart. But that doesn't mean that I don't love you any less. Please believe me Himeko, I really mean it," She said, smiling softly as she brushed the tears that stained her lovers' cheeks.

The look on her face showed her true feelings for her. Himeko saw it and just smiled. Chikane smiled back in return and then Himeko laid her head back on her shoulders. They finally had their moment together, as they look silently outside, embracing each other. They were able to forget their surrounding for a moment and instead enjoying the picturesque view outside and their short time together.

About five minutes later, without warning, Ed interrupted them.

"Ahem, the group is coming this way. So if I were you two, I would stop the lovey dovey stuff.

Chikane quickly let go of Himeko. Himeko did the same as well. Then she asked, "Lovey Dovey? What's that?" Chikane explained to her and then she blushed. "Oh that, sorry!"

"No problem, just act normal." The group came just as soon as he finished his sentence. The two lovers pretended that everything was normal, thus there was no suspicion from any of them. Nothing eventful happened for the rest of the time they were up there. Chikane and mostly Himeko were just mingling with the rest of the group.

They finally got back down to the ground. It was fun experience for everybody. As soon as they were back in Foot Town, Himeko and Chikane thanked Ed and his group and then went their separate way, heading back to their home.

On their way back home, they were walking together, holding each other hands and talking about the trip.

"That was really great! I got some wonderful pictures."

"Yeah, you should have some, you took quite a lot."

"Yeah, I think I nearly filled up my SD card."

She didn't respond back, instead Chikane was in her own thoughts. Himeko noticed and asked her, "Hey, what are you thinking."

"Pastor Ed asked me to take him to another place where he can pick up some men. He is willing to pay me some good cash. I know that you take your beliefs seriously and that you might not approve it, so I want to check it with you first before I go ahead on it."

Himeko stopped and paused for a moment, then she told her, "I don't see any problems with him seeing other man, but it is against the rules of his religion and his organization. Plus churches like his don't take adultery kindly, thus they will see him as lying to the church."

"But don't Christians forgive?"

"Yes, we do, but we also know that we must pay for the consequences for our action. So I don't think you should be helping him go behind his church's back. Instead you should help him out dealing with his issues. I bet he's torn inside."

Chikane thought about it for a while, she sees Himeko's point. His escapades could be exposed and she could go down with him. Given that thought, she told Himeko, "Okay, I'll call him tomorrow and we'll talk about it. It seems that I'll have to let him go."

Himeko smiled, "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. You're right. I would just make a bad situation even worse. Anyhow, let's go this way, we will get to your home quicker," she pointed. It was a properly lit back alley.

"Okay," she said, seeing no danger coming from it, but little did they know they were about to regret it.

Five minutes after they decided to go through the back alley, they started hearing some noise.

"What was that?" Himeko asked.

"I don't know, but just be quiet," Chikane whispered. Then they heard some more noise. Himeko was nervously shaking.

"Chikane I don't like this..."

"Don't worry, nothing will happen to you. I'll protect you."

But suddenly, out of nowhere a man jumped out and frightened both of them. Himeko screamed in fear and so did Chikane, but not as loud.

He was very shaggy looking with messed-up, long teal hair; rotten teeth, and long, dirty fingernails. His appearance was frightening to say the least. He was wearing tin foil all over his body, especially on his head, shielding his mind from invaders so to speak. The man's body seemed to be quivering to some extent, as his eyes darted left and then right, as if someone was attempting to steal his brain. Drool seemed to seep from the corners of his mouth as his senseless babble dribble past his lips, fingers drawing imaginary shapes in front of him as his mind processed what little it could comprehend. It was none other than Tsubasa, Souma's brother, and he was on his schizophrenic rage.

"Who you are? You come kill baby brother? You come from Jupiter?" The man spoke quickly, tilting his head to the side as a sneer graced his lips.

Himeko and Chikane were perplexed. Chikane said, "Who are you? What the hell are you talking about?" During that time, she tried to pull her tanto out nonchalantly and was gripping it intensely with her hand.

The "voices" in his head were saying, "It's the blue demon. You must kill it, kill it!" Referring to Chikane as the "blue demon." He nodded, holding his head as if believing that the "voices' rang true and he must yield to his inner demons.

Then he screamed, "I know you, you blue demon. You must die!" Pulling something out as the glimmer of silver flashed, Chikane knew exactly what it was. With a wicked grin and a maniacal laugh, Tsubasa gripped the blade he withdrew, throwing it violently toward her. She tried to dodge it but the blade hit her right shoulder.

Chikane yelped in sudden pain as she gripped the wound, blood staining her fingertips as it seeped between her knuckles. Himeko let out a loud piercing scream that managed to make some of the dogs in the alley start to bark in rage.

The dogs sparked his attention as he held his head suddenly, shaking from side to side in panic.

"Must be KGB! Must be KGB!" Running away, he fled the scene.

Chikane was on her knees, started to pull the knife out of her shoulder.

Himeko started to cry, "Chikane-chan, Chikane-chan, is you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. It's nothing life threatening. Just give me your shirt so I can put some pressure on it to slow the bleeding," she said as she finally pulled the knife out of her shoulder.

Himeko complied and balled up her shirt, then she put it on the wound and Chikane held it there to slow the blood flow.

"Do we need to go to the hospital?"

"Yes, but a police station could do."

They didn't need to do either, as about two blocks later, a policeman who heard the barking, spotted them and drove them to the Shinjuku Police Department.

While they were there they were sent to a room. Chikane was being treated for her wound, while Himeko was being questioned by the investigators.

"Can you tell us what the man looked like?"

"Ano, he was skinny and he had a Teal-colored hair. It was very long. He also had long nails and he looked kind of like a girl. He looked very dirty, like he didn't bathe for over two weeks."

So the police officer went to his computer and showed a listing of all the green haired, skinny fugitives based on what she described. They went through at least sixty different pictures before she found Tsubasa's photo.

"That's it! That's him!"

"This guy?"

"Yes, that's him! He was it!"

"Oh yeah, you two were lucky. He's a paranoid schizophrenic."

Himeko gulped when she heard that, "Really?"

"Yes. He escaped from a mental institution a while back."

"Oh my," she said.

"Those are they crazy types that even scare me. I remember running into one who was just like him the other day at the station. He said that I was the Angel of Death and that he must kill me before I can kill anyone else. Luckily he tripped over the steps while he was chasing me and I was able to get away," Chikane shared.

When Girochi walked into the room, he immediately recognized the two girls.

"Hey there Himeko-san, what happened to you two?" He knew Himeko's name, but not Chikane's. He was familiar with her, since almost all the other policemen who worked at the station have dealt with her one time or another.

"Some weird guy who spoke a lot of gibberish threw a knife at Chikane-chan."

"Really? Who was he?"

The police officer pointed to Tsubasa's mug photo on the screen, "That guy."

When he saw the picture, he was in shock.

"Uh-oh."

"What wrong?"

"Uh, nothing!" He didn't want to reveal that it was his sister's ex-boyfriend. "Is it possible for me to speak to those two privately?"

"Of course."

"Just when he was about to speak to them, his captain called him."

"Martinez-san, we need you immediately."

"But Captain, I need to talk to these two girls."

"That can wait. There's a guy we brought from a bar who was once a former mixed-martial arts fighter and now he is beating everybody up. Plus he's under the influence of PCP, so we need all the manpower we can get!"

"Oh shit, I'll be right back. Make sure they don't leave before I talk to them."

"Yes sir," so he asked the girls a few more questions before leaving the room. After he left, Himeko turned her head and talked to Chikane.

"You don't know how scared I was when he threw that knife at you. He could have killed you."

"He could have, but thanks to my quick reaction, he didn't."

With no one in the room or even looking inside, Himeko drew herself close to Chikane and then they started kissing each other.

Later on, when he had a break, he called Miyako, but all he got was her voicemail, so he left her a message.

"Miyako, soy yo, Girochi. Escucha, tengo que decirte algo muy importante. Tsubasa atacado a alguien simplemente hace una hora. Todavía en este ámbito y vamos a buscarlo. Por favor devuelva la llamada cuando recibas esta carta, adiós." ("Hey Miyako, it's me, Girochi. Listen, I need to tell you something very important. Tsubasa attacked someone just about an hour ago. He's still in this area and we are going to look for him. Please call back when you get this, bye.")

After that he went back to the room. But when he opened the door, he unintentionally caught them kissing each other. Immediately, they pulled away from each other. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he said, "Ahem, sorry I mean to disturb you two. I just want to ask a few more questions."

Chikane didn't like it and she made it clear, "We already told you guys everything. We were just walking through the alley when he came out of nowhere, saying some nonsense, then he threw a knife at me."

"But where was that at?"

"Like I said earlier, it was near the Municipal building area. Not too far from a Pizza-la shop."

Before Chikane could speak any further, Himeko asked Girochi.

"I guess you know that guy, since you're so interested in asking all these questions."

Girochi stopped looking at them and just pulled his head down. He let out a rather loud sigh and then he looked back at them. Then he finally answered Himeko's question.

"Yes I do. He was a good friend to my sister at one time. He was like a big brother to me. He really is sick and he needs to be sent back to the institution."

"I see," Himeko sympathized.

"Well don't worry. When we find him we will contact you two. Did you give your cell-phone number already to Officer Pango? Well that's if you two have a cell phone, since you girls are homeless."

They didn't say anything but just nodded their heads in agreement.

"We did. We got a pre-paid one," Chikane added.

"Ok, at least that's cleared up with. Well since the report is already done, you two can leave now."

"Thank you officer," they said in unison.

"No problem. Just be careful out there."

"We will," Chikane ended and they left the room and the building, now heading straight to Himeko's place.

When they left, Girochi's cell rang.

"Hello?"

"Soy yo, Miyako, ¿qué pasa?" ("Hey it's Miyako, what's up?")

"Tsubasa todavía está en el suelto. Se acaban de atacar a dos niñas no hace mucho tiempo, afectando a uno de ellos. Caminaban en el callejón no lejos de aquí cuando lanzó un cuchillo a uno de ellos. " ("Tsubasa is still on the loose. He just attacked two girls not too long ago, hurting one of them. They were walking in the alley not far from here when he threw a knife at one of them.")

Miyako was shocked to hear that, even though she knew he was capable of doing such a thing.

"Oh, Dios mío! ¿Está bien? ¿Él la mató? ("Oh my God! Is she okay? Did he kill her?")

"No, él no la mató, pero estuvo cerca. Se le pegó en el hombro. " ("No he didn't kill her, but he came close. It hit her in the shoulder.")

Miyako sighed in relief, "Bueno, al menos no hubo muertos." ("Well, at least there were no dead bodies.")

"Sí, gracias a Dios por eso. Otra cosa interesante es que una de las chicas es alguien que conocemos." ("Yeah, thank God for that. Another interesting thing was that one of the girls is someone we know.")

"¿En serio? ¿Quién fue? " ("Really? Who was it?")

"Fue Himeko, el que nos dijo sobre el Clan Serpiente, el otro día." ("It was Himeko, the one who told us about the Snake Clan the other day.")

"¿Quieres decir que Himeko? El rubio de pelo, ojos de color púrpura-chica que vive en el parque? " ("You mean that Himeko? The blond-hair, purple-eyes girl who lives in the park?")

"Sí, ella. Pero no fue el que resultó herido, era esa chica de pelo azul que vive en la estación que siempre causando algunos problemas. Lo gracioso fue que nunca supe cómo se llamaba hasta hoy. " ("Yep, her. But she wasn't the one that got hurt, it was that blue-hair girl who lives in the station that's always causing some trouble. Funny thing was I never knew what her name was until today.")

"¿Cuál es su nombre?" ("What is her name?")

"Himemiya Chikane."

Sister Miyako nearly dropped her phone when she heard that name. She was in total shock and didn't say anything for a while until Girochi called out her name.

"Miyako? Miyako? ¿Sigues ahí? " ("Miyako? Miyako? Are you still there?")

"Oh, sí, todavía estoy aquí. ¿Siguen ahí? " ("Oh yes, I'm still here. Are they still there?")

"No, ellos ya se fueron." ("No, they already left.")

Miyako said, "¡Dispara!" (Shoot!) That was probably the closest she would come to cursing.

"¿Por qué? ¿Qué sucede? " ("Why? What's up?")

"Hay algo que usted debe saber acerca de Chikane..." ("There's something you should know about Chikane...")

January 1, 2005

Morning for a new year had begun in Tokyo. The temples and shrines were starting to get people again. Business will be closed for the next three days, as part of Japanese tradition. Kazuki was getting the temple ready for the massive crowd. Himeko and Chikane will come later at around 10 am. He didn't need them for the early morning; he and Souma could handle the early crowd.

Himeko and Chikane didn't get much sleep, yet they were up by 8 am. They had to head back to the shrine and continue on with their miko duties. But before they go to work, they had to get some food for the New Year. Traditionally in Japan, people eat a set of dishes called osechi-ryori. Each of these dishes have a particular meaning have a meaning; it could be for good luck, health, wealth, fertility, long life, etc. The supermarkets and department stores were closed, but it didn't matter to the two girls, they can still shop - in the back of the stores.

They were at the back of a Takashimaya store in Shinjuku Times Square looking through the trash to find any good osechi-ryori packets.

"I love eating osechi during the New Year holiday," Himeko chirped.

"Well I don't, but it's the only food that lasts, perfect for our case since we don't have refrigerators. And unlike people who buy them for at least 2000 yen, we get them free, even if they're considered 'lower quality'."

"Yeah. How about that one over there?" Himeko pointed at a particular osechi-ryori.

Chikane took a look to see if it was still good. "Yep this one is perfect. It has sliced fishcake in it."

"For good luck?"

"If you believe in that type of stuff, yes. This is rather ironic, since we could use some of that."

Himeko giggled, "I think we're fine now."

While they were searching, Kazuki was nearby, heading to a convenient store to get some ice. He suddenly noticed them and watched them going through the trash. Something inside of him found it very disturbing as he watched them scavenging through the garbage. They never noticed him.

He thought to himself how terrible it was. "Oh my, look at these young girls. They have to go through trash just to find food. They shouldn't be on the streets; they should be at a home going to school just like normal teenagers. I can't let them waste their life on the street when they have so much potential. I have got to help them out. After all, they've done a lot for me."

He went on to the convenient store, the image of them going through the trash burned in his mind. He couldn't erase it; he was starting to develop a guilty conscious about it. He deeply felt that he really hasn't helped them out enough. He felt that he should do something about it.

When they got to the temple, Kazuki immediately wanted to see them. "Kurusugawa-san and Himemiya-san, can I see you two for a minute?"

"Uh sure, did we do anything wrong?" Chikane asked.

"No, it's nothing like that, it's actually something else," he said as they followed him to a private area of the temple. When the got there, Kazuki said to them, "I'm very thankful for all the things you have done for us and for the temple, including this. I want to really make it up to you in a very big and special way?"

"How so?" Himeko asked.

"Well, I want you two to move in and stay at the temple."

Himeko and Chikane just looked at him like he was crazy, "Are you okay? Did you fall on your head earlier today?" Chikane asked.

Kazuki chuckled, not totally surprised at her response. "No, I'm okay. I know that this is rather unexpected, but I really do want you two to move in with me. So you two can have normal lives. Like go to school, eat home-cooked meals, or sleeping on a bed; things you don't have living in the streets. I really want you two to have normal teenager lives, not having to worry about everyday survival. Plus you could get hurt out there."

"Hey, I can take care of myself!" Chikane told him with a stern tone.

"I know that, but do you want to live like that every day? It's your choice. I can't force you to stay here; it's up for you two to decide."

Chikane thought about it a bit. She doesn't want to live like that for the rest of her life, but she knew that it was too good to be true, "What's the catch here?"

"Well you would help out with the temple, since I would like for you two to be my mikos. However, I will pay you two for your work as mikos, so don't worry about it. You will also have to do chores, but every teenager does that, or they should, so that's not much of a catch. The one thing is that I will train you two in fighting. Thought I don't think I need to do much with you Himemiya-san. You know about our problems with the black-masked group. They're still out there, so self-defense is vital. This is not the time to be weak, hence learning how to fight is essential, Kurusugawa-san," he said, singling out Himeko. Chikane nodded her head in approval.

"Actually Oogami-sensei, I've been training her for almost six months now. She's more capable than she appears, but it wouldn't hurt for her to have more training. Plus, I've heard about your sword skills and I would like to receive some training myself."

Kazuki smiled, "Of course, I'll be happy to train you." Chikane smiled in return. Kazuki continued, "Other than that, there really is no catch. You get free housing and your won't have to pay for school, food, cell phone, or utilities."

Chikane and Himeko thought about it for a minute. Chikane was the first to speak up, "So what do you think Himeko? It would be nice to no longer sleep on a cardboard box."

Himeko was hesitant a bit at first, because of the training part, but then she nodded. "I totally agree. I look forward to going back to school again."

Kazuki then smiled, "Well that settles it. The move will happen after the Hatsumodo. That will give you girls some time to get your stuff, if you have any, packed and for me to straighten up a room for you two. And I hope I don't have to sign a contract for this Himemiya-san?"

Chikane chucked, "No, none indeed."

"Good! Now that we agree on this, let's get to work. The crowd is starting to form."

Later on that day, Souma and Makoto wanted to visit their best friend Yukihito. While riding on his bike, Souma talked to Makoto about their situation.

"It's been a while since we've seen him." Souma said. "I can't understand why he would disappear on us like that."

"Yeah, for the past few months, he has been acting very strange," she replied, while clutching on to him as he speeds down the road.

"Yeah, and he has been hanging out with more of his so-called 'other' friends. I haven't been able to visit his home in like over four months."

"Have you met any one of them?"

"Nope, not one of them, and they don't' seem to be the positive type. One time when I ran into him, he was clearly drunk, even though he denies it."

"Oh." Makoto simply responded.

"Something's going on. I don't like it, and we need to talk to him about it."

Finally, they see the house down the street. As soon as they arrived in front of there, they stopped dead in their tracks, shocked. Yukihito's house appeared to be empty, and it had a 'For Sale' sign right on the lawn.

"Oh no..." Makoto responded.

Three days later after the hatsumode ended, Himeko was getting her stuff ready for the move. Nekoko was assisting.

"I'm glad that you finally got yourself a place to stay, but I'm going to miss having you around, nya!" Nekoko said.

"Don't worry, I'll come back to visit."

"I'm surprise that he only wanted you just to bring your artwork and not much of your clothes."

"Well he said that he was going to take us shopping today. I guess he didn't want us to wear our current clothes, since he thinks they're dirty. After all, he had us go to the clinic yesterday for examination."

"And how did that go?"

"It went well. The doctor said that were a bit dehydrated, but other than that, we were fine."

"That's good," Nekoko responded, as she finally got the last piece of Himeko's artwork packed.

Then Kazuki arrived with a minivan. Chikane was sitting in the passenger side.

Kazuki and Chikane walked up to the tent, "Hello, how's everybody doing?"

"Were fine Oogami-sensei. We're just about done getting everything together."

"That's great, so can I start loading your things?"

"Yep," Himeko replied, and she handed her first item to Kazuki.

While the two walked to the minivan, Nekoko had a word with Chikane, "Look Chikane-san, I know there's something going on with you and Himeko. If I could, I would put a Great Wall of China between you two, but I can't choose who she falls in love with. However, if you hurt her in anyway at all, I will hunt you down. Understand, nya?"

Chikane looked at her coldly and responded, "I love Himeko too much to ever hurt her, so you don't have to worry about that. What you have to worry about is me, kicking your butt for constantly getting on my nerves, like what you are doing right now," she hissed.

Nekoko started to boil up, "I'M NOT GETTING ON YOUR NERVES!"

"Yes you are," she coldly spat. And the two started to argue. By the time Himeko and Kazuki returned, they were in a full-blown argument. They tried to break it up.

"Okay enough you two!" Kazuki uncharacteristally shouted.

"Yes, stop fighting like cats and dogs. Uhh... No pun intended!" Himeko stated.

"No you're right Hime-chan, Chikane-san is a dog, nya!"

"Why you -" Chikane seethed but Kazuki and Himeko held her back before anything happens.

"Stop it! Just stop it! I'm borrowing that minvan, and I don't have much time to waste. So let's just get her stuff, okay?"

Both girls responded 'okay'. For the rest of the time, Chikane and Nekoko didn't say a word to each other while they were helping Himeko and Kazuki. When they finally got everything, Himeko gave Nekoko a goodbye hug and they went to Kazuki's place.

They finally arrived at his place. He showed them around a bit before they start moving in their stuff. His living quarters was right next to the temple. It was a modest house built for a family of four. Perfect for a new home for Himeko and Chikane. "Welcome to my place. It's not much but it's nice. My family has been living her for the last 15 generations."

Himeko was amazed, "Wow! That long? How does the house stay in good shape for so long?"

Kazuki chuckled, "Well it has not exactly look like this all these years. It has been renovated many times. The last time was when my father renovated it ten years ago, when he ran the temple. "

He headed them straight to their bedroom, "Well here's your sleeping quarters. I know it's not much but at least it has a bed, " he humored with his smile.

Himeko was gleaming nevertheless, happy that she finally got a stable place to stay. So was Chikane, who cracked a smile from her usual stoic look.

"You can go ahead and put away your belongings. The drawers are empty. Let me go ahead and get the rest of your stuff," he said as he left.

A few seconds later, Himeko hugged her and elated, "Wow Chikane-chan, we finally got a permanent place to stay!"

"We sure do," she simply answered as she hugged back.

"Don't you know how great this is? Finally, we get to do the things we really want to do. We can do each other's hair, go to the movies, go shopping, hang out at some mall, make each other's lunch, visit even more art museums, go to concerts..."

Himeko's childish, yet excited rambling gave Chikane some chuckles, "Himeko, Himeko, Himeko; I know you're happy to have a place to stay, but I don't think we can do all that!"

"Why not?" she asked liked a little child.

"Because all that requires money and time, and since we're going to start school soon, we might not have that."

Himeko thought it over, "But at least we can try to do some of those stuff," she delighted with a smile.

Chikane returned the smile back, "Yeah, you're right about that. After all, we only have one life to live." Chikane gave her a hug back and told her, "Thanks for being in my life."

"No, thank you for being in my life," she responded followed with a kiss on Chikane's cheek which caused Chikane to blush.

While they were hugging, Kazuki walked in and saw them hugging. It drew a small smile on his face. He tried to quietly put the rest of the stuff on the floor, but it creaked, breaking the girls loving embrace.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you two."

"No problem Oogami-sensei," Chikane stated.

Kazuki thought it would be a perfect to time to bring up something. "I know that you two love each other very much. I also understand that you two may want to express it more intimately, but if you do then please don't do it too often and don't do it in the middle of the night. I need my sleep."

That caused an embarrassing blush on both girls' faces. "We not that far in our relationship to do stuff like that!" Himeko jokingly protested.

Now it was Kazuki's turn to feel embarrassed, "Ano... Then I dearly apologize for making that assumption."

"It's no big deal," Chikane shrugged.

Souma then walked in, "Here's the last of your stuff, Himeko-san."

"Thanks a lot Souma-san."

"No problem. Do you two need my help in putting away your things?"

"No thanks, we're fine." Chikane politely responded. He walked out of the room and they started to put away their stuff.

Just as they were getting done, Kazuki walked in, "It looks like you two are finished."

"Just about," Himeko replied as she put her last artwork on the top shelf in her closet. "Now I'm done. Oogami-sensei, why did you tell us to leave our clothes behind? We don't have anything else to wear besides what we got on our backs."

"Don't worry about that Kurusugawa-san. We will go shopping right soon."

Kazuki proceed to show them around the rest of the house. Besides Kazuki's bedroom, kitchen, and the bathroom section, the main part of the house was really one big area divided by fusumas, panels that partition the big area into smaller sections. "Here's our kitchen area. It's not really big, but it's functional." Then he walked a few steps to the dining room, a room with lots of decorative panels. One of the panels showed a decorative drawing of Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess, and Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the moon god, facing away from each other. The two gods that the temple represents. Another one had three sacred objects of Shinto, the mirror, the sword, and the jewel. Himeko was admiring the artwork on the panels.

"It's beautiful, who are they?"

Kazuki was a bit surprised that Himeko didn't know who they were, but then he remembered that she was never fully exposed to Shinto.

"The one on the right is Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess, and the one of the left is Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoo, the moon god."

"Oh," she simply said. She was not familiar with them. That made Kazuki realize how much he has to teach her about Shinto. "And what is this panel with the sword, sword, and that funny looking thing.

He couldn't help but chuckle at her question. "That 'funny looking thing' is actually the Magatama, a sacred jewel. It represents benevolence.

"Benevolence?" she asked with a puzzled look.

"Yes, just like it is in your religion, it is very important to promote goodwill to others and to perform charitable causes to others."

"Oh ok. So what does the other two things mean?"

"The mirror represents wisdom, while the sword represents valor, or courage. See there's a lot of symbolism in Shinto, but I'll tell you another time."

Kazuki then continued the tour of his home. "And this is our dining room."

Himeko was amazed, "Wow, this is beautiful."

"Why thank you Kurusugawa-san. It was painted over three hundred years ago."

"Really?"

"Yes. From what I've heard, it was done by a family friend of ours. I really don't know his name."

Then he showed them the living room, "And here's our living room." It had an even better display of paintings and wall scrolls of various flowers, especially the Suikazura, or better know as the honeysuckle. It was a mixture of the old with traditional Japanese tatami floor mats, an alcove with historical Japanese artwork and flower arrangements; and the new with a stereo system, a DVD player, a Playstation 2, and a brand new flat-screen TV. He looked at the TV dismissively, "Somehow, Souma-kun talked me into it." The girls giggled.

Souma overheard the conversation, "Admit it nii-san, you would take this over some regular TV anytime!"

"You know I don't watch a lot of TV."

"But you sure do love your classic films."

Kazuki smirked a bit, "True, however I don't get to enjoy it. Most of the time you're using it to watch your soccer, wrestling, and tennis; and also to play your videogames."

Souma just smiled, felling a bit embarrassed. "That's also true."

The girls just chuckled, "Do you have any problems in me watching my anime on here?" Himeko asked.

"No, I shouldn't. That's if it's in good taste. None of that hentai stuff."

"Oh it won't be anything like that! It's on TV and it's called 'Battle Mikos'."

"Then it shouldn't be a problem," Kazuki replied nonchalantly.

"Thank you Oogami-sensei!" Himeko bowed in happiness.

"No problem. As long as it doesn't interfere with your schoolwork or any of your responsibilities."

While they were talking about various things, Makoto came over. "Hi everybody, including the new residents, how are you doing?"

"Fine," Chikane said, being a bit annoyed at her perkiness.

"Hi there Makoto-san, how are you doing?" Himeko cheerfully greeted.

"Fine, yourself? So you two are now living here, right?" she asked with her usual enthusiasm. The two girls nodded in agreement. "Cool! I hope you have everything you need?"

"Well, we need some new clothes," Himeko noted.

"But, that's not all you need," Makoto said.

"Huh? What else could we need?" Chikane questioned.

"Check the bathroom and you'll see," Makoto chimed.

The two went and looked in the bathroom. What they saw was nothing but men's stuff. They came back to Makoto and Chikane said, "I see what you mean..."

Kazuki and Souma understood as well, "Uh... The stores won't open until tomorrow. How about if you come shopping with us so that they can get the 'things' that they need?" Kazuki said with an embarrassed blush. Souma blushed as well.

Makoto laughed, "There's no need to feel awkward or ashamed about it. It's just a part of life for us girls. Besides, I would love to go shopping with them; I need some new stuff myself."

Kazuki smiled, "Well that's good, tomorrow we will go shopping. As for now, let's eat some food. It's the last day of the holiday and we do have some remaining osechi packets to finish off." Everybody agreed and they went to get the food.

For the time during their meal, they talked about various light-hearted subjects such as the latest fashion, baseball, cute animals, Souma's latest tennis accomplishments, and other things. Kazuki listened and didn't say much, true to his nature.

After their meal, Kazuki had a serious discussion with them.

"As you two know, you will be helping me run the shrine. There's a lot needed to be done here. Dating back to many generations, the shrine always had two mikos. One that represents the sun and the other that represents the moon. Kurusugawa-san, I'm making you the Sun miko and Himemiya-san, I'm making you the Moon miko. Plus I will be training you two will in sword combat, starting tomorrow. I will be trying to get you two into a school, so be prepared for that as well. Do you two understand?"

Himeko nodded nervously, while Chikane nodded confidently. Both were nervous of all the responsibilities, it was just that Chikane did a better job of hiding it.

"Can we get them to try out for our school?" Makoto asked.

"That was the first place I was going to try anyways. I need to visit the principal for various reasons," he said, since he knew about their situation.

"Huh?"

"We'll talk about it privately," he said to Himeko and Chikane, as he got up to go to his room.

The next day, Himeko and Chikane went shopping with Kazuki and Makoto. They visited a few stores in the Shibuya area, getting enough clothes to last them for a few weeks. This was all new to Kazuki. He never really dealt with teenage girls like this before, even those who worked for him as mikos. He thought that it would be for only at most two hours, but the shopping took almost an entire day! Until then, he never knew how much time and effort women put into their shopping.

Makoto joined even though they really didn't need her, but she wanted to get some stuff herself. He also got some 'feminine products' for them.

Finally they got back home. Everyone was exhausted, especially Kazuki. He quickly went to the living room and dropped on the futon.

"Oh my, I've never went shopping for that long."

"Don't worry about it. For now on we'll do our own shopping. I notice that you're not into it," Himeko said.

"No, it's not my thing. Now I know what the other half does in shopping," he sighed.

They just chuckled, "That's only the tip of the iceberg Oogami-sensei," Chikane joked.

"I can't imagine that," he said while shaking his head in disbelief.

"Did you say that you wanted to talk to us about school after we got back home?" Himeko questioned.

"Yes, I do. Please sit down," he gently commanded and the girls sat on the futon while he got up and sat on his chair. He looked directly to the two girls and he explained his plan, "As young women, you need to go to school so that you can make something of yourself. I know that Hanayaka School is the perfect one for both of you. Of course you might not be good enough to make it in, though I seriously doubt it. However, the bigger issue is that both of you are runaways. "

Himeko swallowed her throat when she heard that. Chikane didn't, but inside she was seriously panicking.

Kazuki continued. "They're going to need to get your school records before they can do any transferring," he informed.

Nervously, Himeko spoke up, "Maybe it's not a good idea to go to school after all." Chikane shook her head in agreement as they were about to walk away.

Kazuki saw her fear and stopped them, "I know a few people in the Tokyo school board and they will do their best to make sure that the transfer won't be noticed. Plus, I know the principal as well. He'll do his best to make sure that you stay there."

Himeko and Chikane read through his vague response, they suspected that he knew more than he was letting on. Himeko then asked, "So you know? Know about our situation?"

Kazuki looked at her, amazed at her perceptiveness. Knowing it wouldn't do him any good to lie, he simply told her, "Yes I do. I know about your abusive relatives, and I have contacted your art teacher. She very much approves having you go to Hanayaka." Himeko smiled a bit, and then gave him a thankful hug.

"Thanks a lot Oogami-sensei!" Himeko said as she started to cry a bit.

"No problem Kurusugawa-san," he reassured as he hugged her back. "No need to worry, you will be safe here." After they finished hugging, Kazuki then turned his focus to Chikane.

"I also know about what you went through in the orphanage back at Mahoroba. I had a friend from New Zealand who used to work there."

Chikane's eyes lit up when she heard that, "You mean Sister McGlade? You know her?"

"Yes I do. She used to work at the church a few blocks from here. She used to help us with the food and clothing drive. This was before she was transferred to that orphanage in Mahoroba. I talked to her a few days ago, and she told me what happened. I'm really sorry Himemiya-san." However, he only told her half of the truth. He also got some of his information from Sister Miyako, and he also knew that she running away from her.

"It's okay, it's been a while," she said as she downplayed the event.

"No. It's not okay; you lost a friend of yours because of it."

"I know that," she said, feeling uneasy talking about it. "But I got to move on, that what she wanted me to do. Plus, I'm a runaway; I can't do anything against them. Trust me, there are plenty of people who want them in jail and out of business, but none have succeeded due to their strong political connections."

Kazuki saw her point, but suggested something else, "I understand, but you can't give up."

"What am I suppose to do, protest about it? I can't, unless I want to get myself arrested."

"You don't have to do it now, but perhaps in the near future. They'll be many more like you if they are not stopped and held accountable for their actions."

Chikane closed her eyes and nodded her head in agreement, "I know that very well Oogami-sensei."

Kazuki gently laid his hand on one of shoulders, and she winced a bit. It was still hurting from the knife incident. "See this is why I want you two to stay with me, so that this probably won't happen to you ever again. Now go ahead and try on those clothes. I want to know if I have to take them back."

Himeko and Chikane smiled, and quickly ran to the room with their new clothes.

The next day Kazuki put them to work on the shrine. He showed them the daily functions of maintaining the shrine, which includes cleaning the shrine, assist visitors, and daily rituals. He made sure that they weren't anything to compromise Himeko's religious beliefs. He gave them the task of running the information desk. He found them ideal for the job because of Himeko's natural gentleness to people, and Chikane's ability to speak fluent English.

It was ten in the morning, and they finished their shrine chores. They met Kazuki at the middle of the shrine. He got someone to volunteer to watch the shrine for him.

"Now that you two are finished with your chores, we can now begin the training."

"What are we going to do Oogami-sensei?" Himeko asked.

"We are going to learn some sword combat."

When she heard that, Himeko was a bit scared. "Really?" she asked.

Kazuki saw the fear in her eyes, and just chuckled. "Don't worry. We won't work with swords at first. And even when we get to that point, it wouldn't be very sharp."

Chikane explained a bit more to Himeko. "Most likely, we will be using shinai in the beginning. Also we will wear some protective gear."

"True indeed." Kazuki responded. "I already got some gear for you two, plus I have two kendo shinai. Himemiya-san, do you have experience in sword fighting?"

"A little bit. I'm more handy with a tanto than with a katana."

"Well it is a bit different than using a tanto. There won't be much thrusting in the beginning, since it can be very dangerous. Striking is more important now, which you don't do a lot with a tanto."

Chikane nodded in agreement. "I see."

"Well let's get started. I got the gear and the shinai for you two right there." He pointed to a spot where the weapons and gear were lying. Himeko and Chikane went and got the items.

"Does it matter who wears what?" Himeko asked.

"Not at all. Both head gear and body armor are basically the same size. I will have them tailored to fit you girls later on this week."

So they both suited up and got their shinai.

For the next hour, Kazuki trained them in the basics of kendo and the mechanism of using the shinai. It was nothing spectacular; as Kazuki had them repeatedly do the movements, so that the mechanism became second nature to them. Chikane was doing fine, but Himeko was struggling.

"That's not how you plant your feet Kurusugawa-san."

"Sorry Oogami-sensei."

"You got to have your legs tense when you are about to strike, so you can have more power when you are attacking."

Himeko nodded in agreement, "Understood sensei."

"Good, let's try that again."

Another hour passed, and both were sore. They wanted to take a rest, but Kazuki had other ideas.

"Now you need to take a shower, and get back to working at the front desk."

"But we just finished our training, can you give us some time to relax? I mean it's lunch time right now." Himeko begged.

"No. We got work to do. This is the time that a lot of visitors come, during their lunch break. You'll have your lunch break at two at the earliest."

Chikane and Himeko sighed in disbelief, but did as they were told. They took a quick shower and then returned to work the front desk and various parts of the shrine. It wasn't until six pm that Kazuki told them to stop working.

"Let's start closing up. It's dinner time now."

They were happy that it was finally over. Kazuki went on to show them how to close up the shrine. It was rather tedious, but a necessary part of their work as they put away a lot of the items in the room.

After that, they finally got to eat. Souma was there as well.

"So how was your day girls?" Souma asked as he was about to take a bite of his okonamayaki.

"Tiring!" Himeko said.

Souma just giggled. "Ha ha ha! Welcome to the Oogami household. If there's one thing you will be doing here, it would be work." Kazuki didn't say anything, he just continued on with his eating. "You'll get used to it."

"I hope so. I hope I don't die of exhaustion!"

"You won't Hime-san. We're not THAT unreasonable," Souma joked.

Kazuki finally spoke. "But through hard work you build discipline and character. Without either, you won't survive in life."

Chikane nodded, but she had an important question. "But when we start school, how are we going to do all this?"

"You will find ways to do it. I will cut down on your time tending the shrine and kendo practice, but I will never cut it out entirely. You will be doing your job and your practice at least four times a week. And as long as you are staying here, you will do all your homework and study for all your exams. If I have to tutor you, I will do so. If you have to go to cram school, you will have to do that."

Chikane simply nodded while Himeko was very nervous. Besides Arts and to a certain extent, English, she was not an academically good student.

"O-o-okay," she responded. Kazuki also knew how bad her grades were, so he told her. "Look, I will help you out as much as I can okay."

"Okay... I hope I can do better." she said unconvincingly.

"You WILL do better. Hope is not a strong word."

"I see Oogami-sensei. I don't want to disappoint you, like I have disappointed my relative." Immediately, tears came down her cheeks and she started to cry. Those painful years of living with her relatives were coming back. Those beatings she got because of her bad grades were still fresh in her mind. Chikane and Kazuki had an idea of what was going on, but Souma didn't really know what to make of it.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked. Himeko didn't say anything, but she quickly ran into her bedroom. Kazuki and Chikane were silent a bit while Souma had a puzzled look on his face. "What was that all about?" he inquired.

"I'll tell you later." Kazuki replied. He and Chikane got up and walked to the bedroom. When Chikane opened the door, they saw Himeko in the dark, lying on her bed crying on the pillow. Chikane was trying not to cry herself, seeing her lover hurting inside.

"Do you want me to leave?" Kazuki asked.

"No, I think I will need you."

They slowly approached Himeko, who was unaware that they were in the room. Chikane sat on the middle end of the bed while Kazuki remained standing. She then softly brushed her hair in reassurance.

"Himeko, can we talk to you?" Chikane said softly.

Himeko finally took her head off the pillow and looked at her lover. Her face was drenched and her cheeks were fully flushed. She didn't say anything while she was sniffling.

Kazuki took it as a yes as he started to speak. "You shouldn't be afraid of me Kurusugawa-san, I will not do what your aunt and uncle did to you. All I want from you is your gambaru. The past does not make the future. Things will be different here than back at Mahoroba."

Chikane filled in. "Besides, you never disappointed your relatives, even if they told you so. They were trying to make you something that you weren't. If anything, they have disappointed you, by not taking care of you the way they should. Plus they put unrealistic expectations on you."

"But what if it isn't good enough?" Himeko sobbed.

"Kurusugawa-san, what's more important is the fact that you are trying. Even if you give it 100%, there's no guarentee that you will get 100% back. But there is a guarantee that if you only give 0%, you will only get 0%. Nothing is perfect, and nobody is perfect. I might seem unreasonable, but I don't expect perfection from you. However, I do want you to be the best that you can be. I, or anybody else, should not expect less than that. Do you understand?"

Himeko dried her eyes with the sheets. "I understand." she replied softly.

"Now just dry your face off and come back to finish your dinner. Don't worry, things are different here," he said while keeping his stoic expression. He walked out of the room. As soon as he left, Chikane spoke to her.

"Look, we both came from rough beginnings and we still have scars from it, but this is our chance to make anew. We don't have to live in our past anymore, and we don't have to let our past dictate our future. We don't have to worry about our guardians or about being homeless anymore. We got a new beginning ahead of us and this is our chance to make something out of it."

"I don't know. It might turn out to be the same." Himeko lamented.

"Only if you let it. This is a different environment and we're living with different people. Chances are it won't be the same. Oogami-sensei believes in you. I believe in you. Souma-san believes in you. The only person who doesn't believe in you is the one who matters the most, yourself. You got to believe in yourself Himeko." She ended with a touch of concern in her voice. Himeko just looked at her lover and didn't say anything, but her eyes were asking for reassurance. Chikane added, "No matter what happens, whether success or failure, I'll always be there for you."

A tear came down from her right eye. "Seriously?"

"Yes, really." Chikane smiled.

Himeko saw the honesty in her face, and then she smiled. She then gave her partner a hug, and Chikane responded back with a kiss on the forehead.

"There's nothing to worry, I'll always be there for you," Chikane assured while she was hugging her.

After they finished their hug, Chikane told her, "Come on, let's finish our food. I'm kind of starving."

"Okay," Himeko giggled and they returned back to the dining room.

Almost a week later, thanks to a lot of delicate string pulling by Kazuki and the Sumida Board of Education, he was able to get them a placement test without having to officially notify their guardians. It was indeed the Hanayaka School that Souma and Makoto attended. Located in the Sumida ward, the prestigious private school was highly respected for its arts and athletics. Many students who wish to become artists, musicians, actors, or athletes apply, but only an extremely talented or well-connected few ever get in. Kazuki was very certain that Himeko and Chikane had a chance of gaining admittance, since both were very talented in art and music respectively. There was however a lingering concern he had about Himeko's other grades.

Kazuki arrived with them at the school and went into the office building.

"Hi, I came to see ÒWakayabashi-sensei for the placement test of these two ladies." He said to the administrative assistant.

"Oh yes. I see that you're fifteen minutes early. I'll get him to come over." She called him and he came out of his office.

"Oogami-sensei, it's nice to see you again!" He said as he bowed.

"It's nice to meet you again as well." He replied as he bowed back.

"So are these the young ladies that you want to attend our school?"

"Yes, I think they have the skills to do well here."

"Oh I see. So which one of you is the 'little Hokusai'?"

Kazuki pointed to Himeko. She bashfully blushed when she heard that. "I'm not that good!"

"Don't be so modest. I'm sure you are. And you must be the musical one?" He said looking at Chikane.

"Yes I am." Chikane bowed.

"Good, good. I got both of your tests ready. So come with me."

They walked about nearly half the distance of the school. The school was very clean and full of delicate yet bright colors. There were various paintings and drawings from past and present students hanging on the hallway's walls. Himeko and Chikane were impressed at what they saw. During their walk, the principal was giving them a short tour of the place.

"This here is the auditorium where we have our events, concerts, and plays."

"You guys have concerts and plays?" Chikane asked.

"Yes we do. We do have performances, whether it's musical or theatrical, to the public."

"That's great!" Himeko enthused. "How about art shows?"

"Oh yes, we usually have one around March and September, when Spring and Autumn arrive respectively."

Himeko smiled, "That's wonderful!"

"It really is, and I hope that you can be a part of it."

Finally they arrived at the classroom where they will take the test.

"Okay, this is where you two will have your exam. One of our teachers is in there. She will provide you more details on how to take the exam." He opened the door for the girls. As they walked in, he said to them. "Good luck and do the best that you can."

The girls took their seats and the principal left. The teacher then spoke.

"Welcome to Hanyaka Secondary School. I am Otahari-sensei, and I am here to supervise your entrance exam. We are thankful that you two chose to apply for Hanayaka. As you know Hanayaka is the most prestigious Arts and Music secondary school in Tokyo, and one of the most prestigious in Japan. Because of our distinguished reputation, we can only select those that we feel meet our standards. This entrance exam you are taking will determine that. For the exam, there will be two parts: the first is the written part, where you will be tested on your regular scholastic skills such as math, reading, and writing. The second is the activity part. This is to test your major at this school, whether it's arts, music, dancing, drama, whatever. Since you two are here for two different majors, both of you will have to go to separate rooms for the activity part. Do you have any questions so far?"

Both girls shook their heads 'no', so the teacher continued.

"Okay, now which one of you is Kurusugawa-san?"

"I am," Himeko said raising her hand a bit timidly. She was very nervous about the test.

"Okay, and you must be Himemiya-san?" She said pointing to Chikane.

"Hai Otahari-san." Chikane responded confidently.

"Good. We will start with the written exam. There are four parts of the written exam: Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and History. Each part will be an hour long. Now we will begin with the Reading section. There are some multiple choices, some fill-in-the-blanks, and some requiring essays. If you have any questions, feel free to raise your hand so I can come over and assist you if I can. Any questions so far?

Both shaking again 'no'.

"Good," she said as she got up and handed out the papers. "Now go ahead and write your name and date on top, but don't get started until I tell you so." She waited until the girls finished writing their names on top. "Okay, you can begin now, and good luck."

And so the two girls looked over the first question and answered it to the best of their ability. Thus this was the beginning of their new life at Hanayaka.

It was 11:15 PM and Girochi got word of a fire near an alley in Shinjuku. When he heard where it was located, he immediately went over there, knowing that's where Hana lives. He was hoping that Hana wasn't hurt in anyway possible.

When he got there, his worst fears came true. He saw a badly burnt body. He already knew it was Hana, judging by the height. He was trying hard to hold back his tears, but he knew he had a job to do. He also knew that he would have to tell his sister sooner or later about this, so he gave her a call but she didn't answer. He ended up leaving a message. At the scene was guy who was passing by when he saw the fire and reported it.

"Did you see anything else besides the fire?" He asked.

"No I didn't. Are you expecting some sort of foul play?"

"I can't say. I'm not a detective. I'll have them handle this as well." Though he suspected that it was. Instantly, he got a call from his sister.

"Hola?" (Hello?)

"Hola. Que pasa?" (Hello. What's up?)

"Yo tengo noticias mal. Hana-chan es muerte." (I have some bad news, Hana-chan is dead).

Miyako went silent for a bit, then she answered "Are you serious. Please tell me that you're kidding."

"I wish I was, but I'm not. He really is dead. Someone murdered him. I'm at the alley where he stays. He was - "

Girochi could hear some sniffles in the background. His sister started to cry.

"Don't tell me how he was killed, and don't you go anywhere, I will be right there," she said with cracks in her voice. She only lived a few minutes from the alley.

A little over five minutes later, she arrived. Seeing the police cars, ambulance, and a covered body on a stretcher, she knew he was serious.

As soon as he spotted her, Girochi came up to her. "Hi there."

"Hi. Can I take a look at the body?"

"Are you sure? You don't seem to be in the right frameset."

"I am. Please let me take a look."

Then Girochi came up to one of the paramedics and asked him to uncover the body. What she saw nearly put her to shock. It was the badly burnt body of Hana. She couldn't believe it.

"Oh my God!" Then she started to cry. Girochi pulled out some napkins from his pants pocket and gave it to her. She hysterically cried for a bit before one of the detectives spoke to her. Girochi was surprised, for she was very calm and collected most of the time. The only time he ever saw her like this was when they returned back to Peru to see their parents' graves.

"Ma'am, I would like to offer my condolences to you, but we need to ask you a few questions."

"Okay," she responded while drying off her tears. While she was answering the detective's questions, Girochi got a call from a fellow police officer.

"Hello?"

"Hey Martinez-san, it's Chikanatsu-san. I got some bad news for you."

"What? More bad news?"

"What do you mean?" the officer asked. He was rather puzzled.

"Hana-chan is dead."

The officer didn't say anything for a bit. "Oh kami... That's not good. Was he murdered?"

"Yeah, I suspected that someone purposely set him on fire."

Chikanatsu was even more stunned. "Oh kami, that's terrible. He was a good man."

"He sure was, but tell me the bad news please. I doubt it couldn't be any worse."

The officer gulped at first. "It probably is. Your sister's ex-boyfriend, Oogami Tsubasa, is dead."

Girochi was wrong, it did get worse. "What!" he shouted. "You're kidding."

"I'm kidding as much as you are kidding about Hana-chan's death. I'm at the electronic store where he was shot by Officer Fukao-san."

Now he couldn't hold back his tears any longer, as he started to ask questions.

"But why would he do that? What happened?"

"From what the owner told us, Oogami-san entered in the store and started to smash things around him, especially the TVs. Then he went after a guy and nearly killed him. When he arrived there, he said that he saw him with the guy and he was about to throw a piece of metal at him. So he quickly shot him. I'm so sorry..."

Girochi couldn't believe it, two deaths of two people he knew very well in one night. He could have never thought of a worse night than this, besides the night that his parents died.

When she was finished being questioned, Girochi came up to Miyako and told her the other bad news. She was still crying.

"I got word from another officer that Tsubasa-san is...is..." He was struggling to say the last word, as he started to cry. Finally he was able to utter it out. "Dead." Now Miyako was in total shock. She couldn't believe it. The person who was once the love of her life is now gone. Hana was bad enough, but this was truly even worse. "We need to go over there now."

She didn't respond, but instead shook her head and cried even more.

Girochi was about to drive over there, but another officer saw his state-of-mind and convinced him to let him drive him and his sister over there. As the officer was driving to the store, neither said a word during the trip. All they could think of is what was happening. They just kept crying as the police vehicle traveled down the road.

Finally they arrived, and the body was now covered up, but it was still lying on the floor. Girochi talked to his fellow officer and he removed the cover over Tsubasa's face.

When she saw the dead face of Tsubasa, she immediately broke down and cried. On her knees with her hands over her face, she wept heavily. Girochi was barely better, as tears streamed down his face from his watery eyes.

Officer Chikanatsu spotted him. "Girochi-san. I'm surprised that you came."

"I had to, as painful as it was. He was like a brother to me. He was my sister's boyfriend at one time." He responded back in tears.

Chikanatsu offered him a paper handkerchief. Then he offered the weeping nun one as well. She dried her eyes and then when she regained composure, she got angry, but true to her nature, she didn't shout.

"Why did you do this to Tsubasa-san? Why?" She shouted angrily at the cop.

Girochi quickly came to her and tried to calm her down. "Please sis, he was just doing his job. Besides, he wasn't the one who did it."

"No I wasn't. It was another officer."

"Where is he? Where the heck is he!" she demanded furiously.

The officer understood how upset she was. Instead, he calmly told her, "He already went back to the police department. I'm sorry ma'am."

Then his colleague came to him and told him, "Let me handle this."

"No problem." He left the area and then Miyako asked her brother a question.

"Let me see his rest of his body, please."

"I don't think you want to -"

"Please!"

"Okay..."

He pulled the sheets off the rest of his body and saw a cold, bloodied body of Tsubasa. Hysterically, Miyako quickly left the area and cried even more. Girochi came up to her and offered her his big shoulders to cry on. He too was still in tears. He knew he had to sooner or later make another phone call to tell the devastating news.

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Later on that night, while Kazuki was sound asleep, he got a phone call.

"Hello," he said with a tired voice.

"Oogami-sensei, is that you?"

"Yes it is. Hi there Girochi-san."

"Hi. I got some bad news to tell you. Tsubasa-san is dead. He was killed over an hour ago." He informed with his voice crackling.

The stoic Kazuki feared that this day would happen, but he was still left speechless.

"Are you there Oogami-sensei."

"Yes I am. How did it happen?"

Girochi told him the entire story of what happened and it left Kazuki even more numbed.

"So where are you now?"

"I'm at Gold Star Electronics in Yotsuya."

"Gold Star Electronics in Yotsuya?

"Yep."

"Listen, I'll be there in no less then twenty minutes. Don't go anywhere!"

Little did he know that Souma heard the conversation. Souma expected it had to do with his brother. As soon as Kazuki left, he started to get himself dress and got on his motorcycle.

Five minutes after Souma left, a knock was heard from the front door. Chikane was fast asleep, but Himeko was still up. She was sitting up on her bed, doing some drawing. Instantly, she got out of her side of the bed and opened the door. It was Natashi.

"Natashi-san, it's good to see you, but why are you here so late?" She asked softly, not wanting to wake up everyone else in the house.

"I got some news to tell you." Himeko noticed the sadness on his face, she knew it had to be serious. "Is Chikane-san up?"

"No she's not. She's not a night owl like me." Himeko chuckled, but Natashi was in no mood to chuckle. Himeko noticed and stopped her chuckling. Then she asked, "So what's the news?"

Natashi was about to tell her, but he started to cry. While crying, he told her, "Hana-chan is dead."

Himeko's mouth opened in shocked. "Is that so?"

"Yes. They found his body burnt at his place and I know who do it."

"Who?" She asked as tears started to fill up her eyes.

"It was the mysterious black masked crew. They left this at my place."

Natashi pulled out the letter and showed it to Himeko. It was written rather sloppy, but it was on purpose. The person who wrote it must have wrote it with his non-writing hand, so it can't be traced. Natashi proceed to read the latter.

"To Natashi-san and Nekoko-san. This is a warning to anybody who takes our stuff. In this case, it was a jewelry that Himemiya-san stole from us. We will get her sooner or later, and don't try to stop us because if you do, you'll be next."

Himeko was now very frightened. It had to be that necklace that she stole from the pawn shop on their birthday. Sadness and grief of Hana filled one half of her soul while anger and upset of Chikane filled the other. She started to cry and rather loudly, as she wept on Natashi shoulders. It was loud enough to wake up Chikane.

Chikane woke up and came to the main room. She saw a sad and crying Himeko and Natashi.

"Natashi-san, what are you doing here? And why all this crying?"

Natashi regain his composure and told her, "Hana-chan was killed by the black-masked group." He was angry at her as well.

Chikane was now shocked, she hasn't realized that it was because of her actions - yet.

"What? Those bastards! Always praying on the innocent!"

"Not this time! They had a reason! Read the freaking paper and you'll find out!" Himeko yelled in anger and used the strongest word in her vocabulary. She came up to her lover and slapped the paper on her chest. Chikane knew that she must have done something very wrong for Himeko to get angry like that.

She was about to say something about it, but instead she read the paper and then she started to break down as well. While she was crying, she pleaded as well.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen like this!" She cried.

"You knew you shouldn't have stolen that necklace! I told you it was a bad idea!" Himeko yelled back.

"But I was doing it as a favor. Honest I swear!"

"Himemiya-san, this is nothing new. You've done this quite a few times. Now it has finally caught up to you, and others have paid the price because of it. In Hana-chan's case, the price was his life!" Yelled an angry Natashi.

"I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, please!" She begged as she got down on her knees and started to cry.

Natashi told her, "For you, never." And he stormed out of the place, leaving Himeko to deal with the guilty Chikane.

"I do forgive you Chikane-chan, for I know that you had good intentions in giving that necklace to Hana-chan, but what you did was still wrong." And she went back to her bed. Chikane kept on crying, she didn't even bother to go back to her bedroom.

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When he got there, he saw the body on the stretcher a few feet away. It took everything inside of him to remain calm and collective. As he was walking up to the body, one of the detectives stopped him.

"Sir, this is a crime scene, unless you got permission, you can't be around here."

Girochi came up to the detective.

"He's with me. He's the brother of the victim."

"Please, let me see him." Kazuki begged.

"Will you be okay?" The detective asked.

Still regaining his composure, he told him. "Yes."

The detective pulled up the yellow tape and Kazuki and Girochi went under it. He then pulled the cover off of Tsubasa's face. Kazuki was silent for a bit, now he was really struggling to keep his cool.

"Are you next of kin to Oogami Tsubasa."

"Yes." He struggled to reply as he started to tremble.

"Is this the body of Oogami Tsubasa?"

"...Yes."

Finally Souma arrives. Girochi heard the motorcycle's rumble and took noticed.

"Souma-san?"

Kazuki turned around and noticed. "What are you doing here?"

"Where is he?" Souma asked. It didn't take long to get his answer as he saw his brother's uncovered face in the background. In that instant moment, he suddenly lost it.

"NOOOOOOOO! NO! NOOOOOOOO!!!!" He started to cry hysterically. Girochi and a few of the police officers rushed over to calm him down. Kazuki quickly came up to him and tried his best to calm him down, with tears of his own running down his face. This was not a night that anybody will ever forget.

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